From The Halls of Beacon to the Shore of Atlas
by alpahsierra
Summary: What happens when a United States Marine Corps sniper finds himself in the Emerald Forest during Beacon's initiation? Pandemonium most certainly. A different path to the war between Humanity and the Grimm? Now that will remain to be seen.
1. Prologue

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)

Strait of Hormuz, 15 miles from Iran

07:30 GMT, 6/6/2022

1st Marine Expeditionary Unit (SOC), 1st Marine Division,

1st Marine Reconnaissance Battalion, Alpha Company

The announcement blared over the ship's loudspeaker. "Would all fire-team leaders from Recon please report to the briefing room." Battleship grey eyes slowly opened, and with nary a whisper to mark his movement, United States Marine Corps Captain James 'Jäger' Kristiansen dropped to the ground. Straightening, he made his way to the briefing room, accompanied by the 19 other team leaders of Alpha Company. Taking a seat in the back, Jäger stretched his 6'2" frame into the aisle. From the front of the room, a door opened, and an Air Force Major wearing the badge of the Defense Intelligence Agency walked in. After a brief shuffling of notes, the Major looked up from the podium.

"Gentlemen. You all were called here for one purpose. Now, this is a volunteer mission only. The team that volunteers will be airdropped deep into enemy territory with two objectives to complete and 48-60 hours to do so. They will observe strict radio silence, which will only be broken to report that they have been discovered and engaged by a large enemy force. At that point, the remainder of Alpha Company will deploy."

One of the men towards the front of the room raised his hand. "Can you tell us the target and what support will be available?"

"No and yes. The targets will remain classified to all but the team carrying out the mission, unless they require assistance in the form of the rest of Alpha Company. As for support, there will be none."

Another voice appears. "No support? Do you mean no fire support?"

The Major responded somewhat sheepishly. "No I mean no support whatsoever. No fire support, no drone support, and unless the Black Flag gets rolled out, that will not change."

Jäger stood. "Chaos Team volunteers." With an almost laugh in his voice he said, "No support, small window of time and little chance of success? Sounds like our type of mission."

The Major nodded. "Very well. All others are dismissed. Captain, remain here for a moment."

Jäger walked down to the front of the briefing room. To his undisguised shock, the door at the back opened, admitting not the DIA Major, but UMSC General Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Snapping to attention, Jäger saluted the man in charge of America's military at the President's direction.

"At ease son. I will be frank with you. There is no briefing for this mission. There are two targets, and we are giving you total latitude with how you and your team eliminate them and in which order. The targets are the Iranian Nuclear Complexes at Natanz and Fordow. Gather your team, come up with a plan, and get yourselves equipped. You have 12 hours until transport leaves the Ford for a land airbase. Do not disappoint us son."

"Sir, yes sir."

"Dismissed."

—Line Break—

After Jäger tracked down the remainder of Chaos Team, he brought them to a briefing room that they commandeered. Aside from Jäger the fire team leader and resident sniper, there was King, a huge black man from New Orleans and the squad's heavy weapons expert, Khan, hacker and demolitions, Vlad, the squad's breacher, and Yung, the radioman and JTAC. "Alright boys, we got a mission. Or, more correctly, I volunteered us for the mission." Groans responded to his statement. "Godammit man, not another one." "Shut up Khan, you know you love it. So, here it is. We will be airdropping into Iran via HALO in 16 to 18 hours. Once in country, we will have 48-60 hours to destroy both the Natanz and Fordow Nuclear Facilities. We will have no support, neither fire nor drone, and only if we are blown will the rest of Alpha deploy to save our asses. So, here's the deal. Everyone take a M27, King, you get the SAW. Khan, you need to have enough explosives to set off sympathetic detonations in two different nuclear facilities. Vlad, you know best when it comes to breaching, but bring an M27 anyway, I want everyone able to lay down accurate small arms fire if it comes down to it. I'll have my M40A5 for distance, and when it comes to side arms, everyone take a .45." Everyone nodded their understanding.

"Right. Here's the plan. We will be HALOing in near to Natanz around 21:00; we will then bury ourselves in the sand until 23:00 local time. Once that occurs, we will move up, to within 500 yards of the facility and begin reconnaissance. We hit Natanz at 03:00 local. Once the charges are set, we make our way overland in a vehicle to Fordow. Same deal, but we will have plenty of time. Fordow is roughly 2 hours overland from Natanz. Assuming a clean infil, we will set up in the desert, scout it out after sunset, and then hit it early morning. Once that's done, detonate the charges and call for evac. Hopefully we will be back here in 48-60 hours, but I want everyone to bring 4 days worth of MRE's. We'll commandeer water from Natanz after we hit it, so bring extra canteens. I want everyone to have at least 12 magazines worth of 5.56, once that runs out we'll start scrounging 7.62 PACT and Klashnikovs. Any questions?"

King shook his head. "I think you covered everything man."

"Alright. Wheels up in 11 hours. Do whatever you gotta do, but be on the deck at 0:00 GMT."

—Line Break—

2 Hours to drop

Chaos team rode in silence in the back Humvee towards the airfield they were to leave from. Stepping out, they were greeted by the sleek black airframe of a B-2 Spirit, beneath which USAF technicians were working feverishly. A Colonel stepped up to them.

"Gentlemen, if you will follow me."

The teamed followed the Colonel into the hangar and sat down around the folding table inside.

"Gentlemen, I will be frank with you," the unnamed Colonel began. "This method of insertion is completely untested. Yet, despite this, we believe it will be successful."

Vlad spoke. "And exactly how will we be inserting?"

"The bomb bay on the Spirit of South Carolina had been modified to carry air canisters which you will be breathing from during the flight. Once over the target, the bombardier will signal a 2-minute warning, during which you will unstrap yourselves and wait for the bomb bay doors to open. Once they do, you will drop."

King exploded. "You have got to be bullshitting me. We are going to be flying in an unpressurized bomb bay?"

Before the Colonel could open his mouth, Jäger spoke. "Enough. It doesn't matter. Let's go."

—Line Break—

3 Minutes to Drop

Chaos team slowly stretched as much as they were able in the cramped confines of the South Carolina's bomb bay. The blaring alarm rang out, signaling two minutes to target. Chaos unstrapped, disconnecting themselves from the auxiliary oxygen tanks and activated their HALO oxygen systems. Beneath them, the bomb bay doors opened, and with a whispered line of Tennyson, Jäger dropped into the inky blackness of 40,000 feet. Chaos followed. In a tight diamond they fell, ensuring visual contact between each other. As their altitude alarms rang at 3,000 feet, Chaos popped their chutes one by one, Jäger doing so last, at 2,500 feet. As he did, however, something happened. As his body snapped upwards from the force of the deploying chute, a white light filled his vision, and his last thought before unconsciousness was that he and his men had failed.


	2. Chapter 1

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

Location Unknown

Date Unknown

1st Marine Expeditionary Unit (SOC), 1st Marine Division,

1st Marine Reconnaissance Battalion, Alpha Company, Chaos Team

Jäger, as was his custom, came to without a single outward sign that he had passed from unconsciousness to consciousness. Listening carefully, he laid there, on the ground, until he had determined that he was relatively alone. Then, moving so fast he nearly blurred, Jäger rolled backwards, drawing his P220 and flicking its laser on. Scanning his surroundings, Jäger found himself in a forest, the leaves an unnatural shade of emerald. Suddenly, a loud explosion rent the sky and, reacting completely on instinct and training, Jäger dove to the ground. Holstering his pistol, he switched to his 556xi, continuing to scan the area around him. Spotting a clearing about 200 meters away, Jäger moved forward, seeking more open territory where he could conceal himself as his training dictated and still observe the area with lethal capabilities.

Breaking into a run, the warrior broke into the clearing, immediately bringing his weapon up to scan the area for threats. Before him was a large clearing, backed up to a tall cliff. In the center was a stone structure, resembling, to Jäger's eyes, Stonehenge. Pedestals inside held golden chess pieces. Settling back lightly into the tree line, Jäger continued to scan the area for threats. Hearing movement off to his right, he snapped his sights over, the reticle settling onto a striking ravenette with a black bow. Next to her was a blonde girl, dressed in a leather jacket and scarf.

At this point, Jäger began to actually think, rather than act on instinct. Taking stock of his situation, he found that most everything was arrayed against him. He had no idea where he was, what date it was, nor how he had gotten there. He had no way to contact the Ford, nor could he contact the rest of Chaos team, as they had forgone personal radios in order to save weight. Waiting in the shadows, Jäger silently observed as the two moved into the henge. Coming to a decision, he moved forward rapidly, covering the 50 meters between the tree line and the entrance to the henge in a handful of seconds. Centering his reticle on the ravenette's back, he spoke. "Both of you, freeze. Place your hands on your head, interlace your fingers, and kneel down on the ground."

—Line Break—

POV Switch

Yang turned hearing the voice behind her and Blake. Behind her, there was a tall man. He was wearing boots, pants, and a long sleeved shirt, both of which had a pattern of black, green, and brown on them that made it difficult to see where he started and the forest ended. Over that was a vest made of tan material that looked rather bulky and held pouches and odd sphere and cylinder looking devices. He was holding a large black rifle, with another slung across his back along with a large backpack. No dust rounds were visible on him, but pouches on his vest held metal boxes similar to the one in his rifle. He shouted again.

"I said freeze," the man yelled. His rifle barrel slid sideways. "Do as I ordered or I kill your teammate."

Yang gaped at the man. Threatening to kill Blake over initiation? "Fine," she said. "I was getting to it." Internally, she was planning on waiting for the man to get closer so she could uppercut him.

"You too," he said, gesturing at Blake with his barrel.

Both knelt as ordered and placed their hands on the back of their heads. Slowly he moved forward, always keeping his weapon pointed at them, swinging out wide to keep both of them in view. Suddenly, out of the forest, burst an Ursa. The man turned with incredible speed and loosed a volley of shots, all striking the Ursa in its chest and head. A distant part of Yang's brain recognized that the weapon was louder than a standard dust weapon, but that was overridden by her decision to attack him while he was marginally distracted. Activating the mechashift on Ember Celica, her combination shotgun gauntlets switched to its combat form, and her fist flew forward, sending a dust shell at the man.

—Line Break—

POV Switch

Jäger swore and dove to the left. Blondie evidently had some advanced personal defense weapon, as she went from being unarmed to firing at him. Taking advantage of what little cover there was, Jäger rolled behind the outer wall of the henge, loading a fresh magazine into his 556xi. Seeking to determine the location of the hostiles, he yelled out. "And here I was being polite and you had to start shooting at me! Where are your manners young lady?"

The response came from his left. "Polite?! You threatened…"

Not letting her finish, Jäger popped up, launching a three round burst in her direction, sending her diving for the ground so as not to be hit by the flying lead. Then, Murphy intervened.

Out from the forest came another overly large bear, covered in what appeared to be bone armor. As it broke through the tree line, it fell over, dead, and a girl dressed in pink and white jumped off.

"Aww, it's broken," she mumbled. Attached to her back was what appeared to be a 40mm Multiple Grenade Launcher. Next to her was an Asian looking boy, dressed in jade green oriental robes, carrying two machine pistols with odd blade attachments at the muzzle. Another girl, in red, dropped from the sky of all places, looking substantially younger than the rest. She was armed as well, carrying an absurdly large scythe, which had a breech and magazine large enough for a .50 BMG round. The final members of this motley crew also fell from the sky, one holding the other. The first was a tall blonde boy armed with sword and shield, not uncommon in medieval France, the other a white haired girl wielding a rapier of all things.

Just when Jäger thought things couldn't get any weirder, a redheaded girl sprinted out of the forest, a giant scorpion at her heels. She was clad in a Greco style armor and carried a Grecian spear and shield. Without hesitating, all of the kids arrayed in front of him turned and opened fire on the scorpion, striking in all across its body and driving it off. Before he could take advantage of their distraction, however, and slink of to a suitable position in defilade, Blondie turned towards him and cocked her gauntlets.

"Ruby, get behind me. I have no idea who this guy is but he threatened to kill Blake and I."

The aforementioned Ruby turned to Jäger and yelled at him. "Hey! No one gets to threaten my sister. Besides, who even are you? You weren't at the launch pads."

A vaguely British voice came from behind Jäger. "A question I would very much like answered myself Ms. Rose."

Jäger turned and, not even bothering with his rifle, drew his KA-BAR from where it hung on his left shoulder. Slashing forward, he aimed for his opponent's jugular, followed by a rapid palm strike to the right kidney and a knee to the groin. The knife was blocked by a cane, the palm strike dodged, and the knee redirected, putting Jäger off balance. The cane wielding man then lashed out, sweeping Jäger's left foot from beneath him, causing him to fall onto his back. Rather than be defeated so easily, the Marine rolled with his fall, drawing his P220 and firing four rounds in the direction of the man. One round impacted, punching through the fleshy part of his left arm causing a grunt of pain. Jäger then took a punch with massive force to the back of the head and faded into unconsciousness.

 **Updated for grammar and style:12/14/16**


	3. Chapter 2

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

Location Unknown

Date Unknown

1st Marine Expeditionary Unit (SOC), 1st Marine Division,

1st Marine Reconnaissance Battalion, Alpha Company, Chaos Team

Jäger, as was his custom, came to without a single outward sign that he had passed from unconsciousness to consciousness. The first thing he noticed was that, unlike the last time, he was not laying on the ground, but on a bed. Then the smells of antiseptics greeted him, and he nearly gagged at the scent. Jäger slowly cracked one eye open, then the other, ascertaining that he was alone. Swiftly rising, he swung himself out of the hospital bed, finding himself still clothed in his MARPAT woodlands, just with his ruck, ballistic vest and most of his weapons removed. He still had his folding knife and boot dagger, and his Sig Sauer P220 Compact in his waistband. Drawing his backup pistol and dagger, Jäger began to sweep and clear the infirmary area room-by-room, searching for his gear.

"I must say, your equipment is most interesting." That same vaguely British voice came from behind the sniper. Jäger reacted. Diving forwards, he twisted upon hitting the ground, firing a trio of shots. His opponent had also dove, reading Jäger's motions correctly.

"Peace, peace, young man. I am not your enemy." The man did his best to appear grandfatherly and harmless, but Jäger had served with one of the deadliest Special Forces units in the world. He could tell how great of a threat the man was by the way he held himself and how quickly he had managed to dodge the gunfire that was sent his direction. Before Jäger could respond however, he found himself unable to move anything below his neck. An attractive older woman, in what could only be described as a 1940's era schoolteacher outfit, stepped into view, carrying a riding crop. Seeing how Jäger was straining to be able to move, she spoke.

"My family and I are extremely gifted in the power of telekinesis. I have currently immobilized you and you will remain that way until you decide to act in a civil manner and with proper respect for the headmaster."

—Line Break—

POV switch

That was evidently the wrong thing to say as the man's face hardened dramatically. "James Kristiansen, Captain, United States Marine Corps. Service number 632228, date of birth 01/10/1997."

Ozpin tried to get more out of the man, but all he would say was his name, rank, branch, number, and birthdate. Eventually, they took him to a room that was empty with the exception of a table, upon which was a jug of water, and left him there.

"Ozpin, what are we to do? He appeared from nowhere, proceeded to attack Ms. Xiao Long and Ms. Belladonna, and even managed to wound you, something that has not happened in quite some time. And, most worryingly, he acts as if he is a prisoner of war," Glynda stated.

Ozpin pinched the bridge of his nose. "I am going to give him some time to relax and then I will go in and speak to him." Seeing Glynda about to argue, Ozpin cut her off. "No buts. I am doing this. And that is final."

—Line Break—

2 Hours Later

Jäger sat at the table, with his heels resting on the surface. His head was resting against the wall behind him and he was, to the rest of the world, asleep. The door into the room opened and he didn't react. Five minutes later he still hadn't moved, except for the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. Then, hearing the movement of something towards his head, his hand flashed upwards and caught the end of a cane as his eyes snapped open. Wrenching the object out of its wielder's grasp, he let the legs of the chair drop down to the ground and, in a single movement, grasped the ends of the cane in both hands, and shattered it over his thigh. Only after throwing the pieces to either side did he speak.

"You know, it is generally considered bad form to beat the prisoner before you interrogate them. Normally that comes after the first session." He narrowed his eyes. "So, since you didn't bother to disarm me, explain to me why I should not kill you, recover my equipment, and then proceed to completely destroy your little training encampment."

—Line Break—

POV Switch

Ozpin, despite the threats being leveled his way, remained outwardly calm, though his mind was racing. 'Whoever this is, and whatever he has done, he has either had remarkably bad experiences or exceedingly intensive training.'

"I'm not sure what you mean by training encampment. This is a school. Surely you do not mean to kill innocent children," Ozpin asked.

The man snorted. "Mister, the only things I am concerned with are completing my mission and remaining alive. Thus, I will gladly kill anyone who stands in the way or threatens either one." He sat forward, and picked up the knife. "Now, I have already told you my name, several times in fact. And yet, I do not have yours."

Ozpin frowned at the blatant threat. "I am Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy." Then, coming up with an idea, he cocked his head to the side. "How about this. Since you did not recognize me, I can tell that you are not from here. How you ended up in a rather dangerous forest and were unconscious no less, I have no idea. So, let us trade information. I will give you something and you must give me something in return."

The man smirked. "Very well. Since you answered one of mine, you may begin."

Ozpin furrowed his brows thoughtfully. "Would you repeat your name?"

"James Kristiansen, Captain, United States Marine Corps. Service number 632228, date of birth 01/10/1997,' he said.

"With the speed at which you responded, I would assume that that is a practiced response, one that you have had to memorize for one reason or another. Nevertheless, it is your turn."

—Line Break—

POV Switch

"Where am I," Jäger asked.

"Well that one is easily answered," Ozpin replied. "You are in the kingdom of Vale, at Beacon Academy. Now, James…"

Jäger interrupted. "Headmaster, do not even try. I am well versed in interrogation techniques, both psychological and physical. I have not given you permission to use my name, thus you are trying to build rapport by doing so. It will not work, so save yourself the trouble."

Ozpin looked taken aback. "Very well. What is the United States Marine Corps? I have never heard of such an organization."

Jäger looked at him incredulously. "Have you been living under a rock?" He sighed and muttered, "Alright, explain it to him like he is a 5 year old with a good vocabulary." "The United States Marine Corps is a section of the Department of the Navy and yet functions as an entirely separate branch of the United States Military. The Marines act as an expeditionary force-in-readiness, and has several areas of expertise, the most prominent being amphibious operations. Additionally, the Corps provides security for American Embassies across the world, and guards Navy and Marine Corps installations. In relation to its main duty, acting as an expeditionary force-in-readiness, the Marines have conducted combat operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria in recent years, to name a few." Jäger thought for a moment. "What is Beacon and what is its purpose as an Academy?"

Now it was Ozpin's turn to look incredulous. "You have never heard of Beacon? Or any of the other academies?" He stood up and paced the room, obviously distraught. "I had thought you were simply an overzealous applicant who had been rejected, or perhaps someone with a personal grudges against Ms. Belladonna or Ms. Xiao Long. But this… this changes everything." Seeming to come to a decision, he turned to Jäger with surprising swiftness. "Wait here. I will return in a moment." With that, he practically ran from the room.

"That was weird," Jäger said to himself. "Almost like something Brendan would do."

Within minutes, Ozpin had returned. Without sitting down, he slapped a large map on the table and said, "Tell me, do you recognize anything on this map?"

Jäger looked at the map. The continents were oddly shaped, with one looking like a perched dragon. "No," he said. "I do not recognize any of these continents, neither by name nor shape. Nor do I find the cities familiar in the slightest."

Ozpin sat down heavily. "I feared as much." He rubbed his temples. "Mr. Kristiansen, I am afraid there is no easy way to say this, nor can I explain it. I believe that you and I are from different realities, and somehow, you were moved from yours to mine."

 **Updated for grammar and style: 12/14/16**


	4. Chapter 3

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

Beacon Academy

Date Unknown

1st Marine Expeditionary Unit (SOC), 1st Marine Division,

1st Marine Reconnaissance Battalion, Alpha Company, Chaos Team

Jäger sat back, completely stunned. Ozpin, either uncaring or not noticing his distress continued. "It is the only explanation that makes sense, even if it is a bit farfetched. You appeared from nowhere in the Emerald Forest, and recognize neither the names of any geographical markers, nor the cities, and had no knowledge of the kingdoms or Beacon. It would also explain some rather odd happenings of late. I recently received a key, from an unknown source, with a note saying I would know whom it was for." Ozpin stood. "Follow me."

With no other option, Jäger did as he was bid. Upon exiting the room, Ozpin and Jäger were met by the eight others who had been in what Jäger now knew as the Emerald Forest. Ozpin drew up short.

"Ahh," he said, turning to Jäger. "If I might introduce teams RWBY and JNPR. Team RWBY consists of Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long, two of which you have interacted with previously. Team JNPR consists of Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren." Surprising everyone there, Jäger turned to Nora. "Hagl og vell møtt skjoldmø. Sikkert vi skal feste med i Valhall før utgangen av verdens," he said in a lilting accent. ('Hail and well met Shield maiden. Surely we shall feast in Valhalla before the end of the world.' In Norwegian.)

Nora looked completely stunned before exclaiming in English, "I didn't think anyone still spoke the old tongue! I only learned it because my parents made me." She dashed forward, wrapping Jäger in a tight hug, which he stiffened in response to. "You and I are going to talk every day in the Old Tongue so I can stay in practice!"

"If I say yes, will you let go," was Jäger's only response. Nora released him, grabbed Ren and went skipping off, still chattering excitedly.

Ozpin looked sideways at Jäger. "I wish you luck. Ms. Valkyrie is very…energetic."

Before Jäger could reply, Yang broke in. "You're the guy who attacked me and Blake! Professor, what is he doing here and who is he?" Without waiting for a response, she activated her gauntlets.

Jäger spoke, not even a second after the last word left Yang's mouth. "I am here at the request of Headmaster Ozpin. We were about to go and recover the rest of my equipment. As for who I am…let's just say I am an exceedingly dangerous person Ms. Long. Where I come from, my job was one of the most dangerous in the world."

Yang response was understandably disbelieving. "And what was that Mr…"

"Killing bad people from very bad places and breaking their shit," was Jäger's reply. "And I was very good at it. So unless you want a firsthand experience of how good I am, I would suggest you deactivate those gauntlets of yours." Turning to Ozpin, he looked around the hallway and then said simply, "120 seconds."

"Ozpin simply looked at him with a cocked eyebrow. "Really? That fast."

"20 seconds apiece," Jäger replied, "with some going faster and some slower. Sand head here would go fast, along with Snow White, and Red Riding Hood. The Fair Lady, Athena, and Blondie would take a little longer, but since they've just met, I highly doubt that their teamwork would be on par. Anyway, shall we? I'd like to reclaim my weapons and equipment, as well as take a look at this key you received."

"Very well," Ozpin replied. "Let us be off."

Ozpin and Jäger walked away leaving five completely bewildered and one furious teen behind them.

—Line Break—

POV Switch

Breathing heavily in anger, Yang stood in the hallway, incensed at being dismissed so casually. Pyrrha noticed Yang's growing anger.

"Yang. Let it go." Yang turned to her. "He is more dangerous than any of us. Those numbers? He estimated that it would take him two minutes to defeat all six of us. He wasn't lying, so he believed completely that he could do so. Do not go after him Yang. If he is as dangerous as he says, you won't stand a chance."

—Line Break—

POV Switch

Jäger and Ozpin walked down the hallway, stopping at an elevator. Upon pushing the button, the doors opened with a quiet ding and the pair of men entered. Riding the elevator in silence, the exited upon reaching the top. Ozpin strode to his desk and sat down, while Jäger walked to the opposite side of the room and reclaimed his gear.

"Since we have determined that you are not a prisoner of war, and that I mean you no ill, would you tell me more about yourself and what you do," Ozpin called from his desk.

Sighing, Jäger walked over. "Seeing as I can't get tried for treason, I don't see why not. I joined the Marines about 7 years ago, when I had just graduated from college with a degree in physics. I was 22. I was planning on serving my time and then becoming an engineer with a major national firm that did a lot of government work. After my first deployment, I requested to go to sniper school and was admitted. Upon completing the course, my unit deployed again, and I spent another six months in the desert. Once I got back from that deployment, I was promoted to 1st Lieutenant, and spent some time helping at an Officer Selection Station. Once that was done, I was deployed again, on Embassy duty, to the Middle East. That deployment went smoothly, for the most part, and when I got home, I applied to Recon School. They accepted me and I spent two months going through hell. At the end though, I was a member of one of the deadliest forces on the planet. Our job was many things, but they all fell into two categories: Deep Reconnaissance or Direct Action. Deep recon was exactly what it sounds like; we went in, lightly armed with orders to evade the enemy if engaged. Direct action was the exact opposite. With those missions, we went in heavily armed, with specific objectives, but our general job was to cause as much destruction as possible. My team and I were dropping in for a DA mission when I ended up here. That's why I was so heavily armed."

Jäger sighed. "Anyway, I'd like to see this key and note you mentioned."

"Of course," Ozpin said. "Catch."

The key flew directly at Jäger's head, and, without blinking, his hand flew up and snatched it out of the air. Examining the key, he spotted some miniscule writing.

"Did you go to the address written here?"

"No, I was rather busy with the semester starting. I can take you if you like."

"That would be appreciated." Jäger threw the key back to Ozpin.

"This address is in the industrial district. A warehouse if I had to guess."

"Good," Jäger grunted. "An open floor plan will make it more difficult to sneak up on me."

Ozpin looked at him shrewdly. "I would like to offer you admission to Beacon. While I have no doubt you know your trade very well, Vale, and the world of Remnant is very different from your world. I have no doubt you will make an admirable Hunter."

Jäger appeared to consider it for a moment before deciding. "Very well. I accept. Will you be putting me on a team?"

"No," Ozpin replied. "Based on what you have told me of what you did previously, you will be working with Teams RWBY and JNPR as an additional combat trainer, as you are no doubt qualified, and performing missions with either team."

Jäger grimaced. "That is…acceptable. I can probably turn the Arc kid into a decent leader. And I will be definitely teaching them proper weapons care. Expect a fight between me and Blondie at least once a week though."

Ozpin chuckled. "I can accept that." He stood. "Let us be off."

—Line Break—

30 Minutes Later

Ozpin and Jäger stood before what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. He handed Jäger the key. "If you would do the honors?"

Jäger drew his pistol. "We have no idea what, if anything is in this building," he looked around, "and this doesn't look like a very good part of town. I am going to sweep and clear. Either stay here or stay behind me."

Ozpin looked rather amused. "I appreciate the concern, but I can take care of myself."

Jäger shook his head. "I'm not doubting your abilities. Rather, I do not know the full extent of what you are capable of, so I am only using what I do know, that being my own abilities. Plus, I don't want you getting in my line of fire."

Conversation over, Jäger turned back to the door and tapped on it with one finger. "Ballistic steel," he muttered. "Should stop anything short of a .308." Grasping the handle, he unlocked the door, and, with surprising fluidity for someone his size, spun into and through the doorway, keeping his back to the door the entire time. Scanning throughout the open area, which comprised most of the floor space of the warehouse, he was surprised to find it completely empty. In the back corner, about 100 feet away, there was another door, this time, with a keypad next to it. Jäger walked over, crossing the distance in a few seconds.

"You can come in now," he called over his shoulder.

Ozpin entered the building and walked over to where Jäger now stood. "Do you know the combination?"

"I suspect I do, but here is the problem. If I had been the one to install this, there would be three chances to unlock it. If all three chances failed, explosives positioned around the building would detonate, killing everyone inside and destroying the contents of the vault."

Stepping to the keypad, Jäger keyed in 0-1-1-0-9-7. The keypad flashed red. Trying again, Jäger entered 6-3-2-2-2-8. Red again. Breathing heavily, Jäger entered 3-1-4-1-5-9. The keypad flashed green and the door popped open. Stepping inside, the two men were greeted by sterile white lights shining on rack after rack of weapons and ammunition. All were weapons Jäger was familiar with, ranging from pistols and shotguns to semi-automatic and bolt action rifles. Also inside were light machine guns, heavy machine guns and a Carl Gustav.

Jäger whistled. "Oh boy. I could cause a lot of trouble with these." He turned to Ozpin. "Sir, I will see you in three days. I will need to purchase furniture for here to make the building livable and then I will need to select the weapons I will be bringing with me. If you could set aside three lockers for my use, I would be most grateful."

Ozpin nodded. "Given the circumstances," he looked around, "I think I can allow that. I will see you in three days Mr. Kristiansen."

 **A/N: Right, now that I've got the first four out and everything has firmly settled into the show, I figured this would be the best time to do an Author's Note. So, first thing, I need a beta. I am well aware that grammar is not my strong suit, and am trying to rectify that. Secondly, this is the end of everything that I had already planned out. I do have some things prewritten, but that is all content that comes up in season 3, so you won't be seeing that for a while. As part of me running out of what I had planned, updates will be coming much slower from this point on. I am in college, and, as if that wasn't enough, decided to take Calc II this semester. So updates will be slower. I will try to do one a week, but no guarantees.**

 **A/N2: In the first chapter, there was a line right before the end where I said Jäger whispered a line of Tennyson before dropping from the South Carolina. That was a reference to Alfred Lord Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade, in which he writes, "Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and die." An apt poem for anyone in the military, but especially so for operators.**

 **A/N3: Regarding my inspiration for Jäger, I created his character using men I know who are currently serving in either Iraq or Afghanistan, or did so previously in the Middle East and elsewhere. Men who would die in an instant for their country and families, and have a loyalty that is absolute for those they trust. Jäger will be much the same later on once team RWBY and JNPR start to trust him and he feels as though he can trust them.**

 **ALSO, UNLESS IT IS BLATANTLY OBVIOUS THAT I CREATED IT, EVERYTHING HEREIN BELONGS TO ROOSTERTEETH.**

 **Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3 Updated 3/29/16**

 **Updated for grammar and style: 12/14/16**


	5. Response and Clarification

After reading the reviews, I felt that a clarification was necessary. To quote Finally An Available Username, "Well, I've totally lost interest on what seemed to be heading towards an interesting story. A cliché teacher that everybody hates and fears at the beginning that ends up becoming a mentor. And of course turning the most pathetic character ever, Jaune, into a fearsome leader who can be proud of himself. You couldn't have possibly been more predictable, and in so, boring."

So, to begin with the first point, Jäger is not going to turn into someone's mentor. This is for two reasons. One, I want him to remain detached. One of my inspirations for this story was imagining a man in MARPAT woodlands standing behind Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang with his arms crossed as they sit on the ground at the end of the season three opening. I envisioned him as, not a mentor for RWBY or JNPR, but as the one they continually strive to beat. The one they are half convinced is an enemy, but then he acts in a way that makes in obvious he isn't. As for the other reason he will never become a mentor is due to his viewpoint. If you remember from the summary, I specifically said that he is a Marine Corps sniper, and in the prologue, I go into more detail, saying that he is both a Force Recon team leader as well as a sniper. Being a sniper does odd things to you, and I am speaking from personal experience here. My father was a sniper in the Gulf in the 90's and he still has nightmares, 25 years later. The main difference between snipers and other soldiers is what they see. Tankers see a vehicle, pilots/gunners see a target and infantrymen don't normally actually make visual contact with the people they are shooting at. However, snipers generally see their target's face before pulling the trigger, and even then, the rifle tends to settle just in time to see the round impact. Seeing that damage done through a 10x or 40x scope does irreparable harm to a person's psyche, and due to this, Jäger is practically a sociopath. He, especially in combat, shuts down emotions on all levels, viewing everything from a detached logic based viewpoint. That would put him completely at odds with a passionate fighter such as Weiss or Yang, as both of them use their emotions in fights to power their abilities, Yang in her semblance and Weiss in her conjuration.

Secondly, I fully agree that Jaune is one of the most pathetic characters in RWBY. He suffers from crippling self-esteem issues and is not a very capable fighter. What Jäger said to Ozpin is that he would try to turn Jaune into "a decent leader" not, "a fearsome leader who can be proud of himself." Jaune will, if we are being honest, very be such a leader. His inspiration, for RT, was Joan of Arc, who, by all accounts, was a decent leader and capable, but by no means amazing, fighter. That is what Jäger was going to try to do, give Jaune some ability in leadership, be it in tactics, strategies, etc.

That done, the next chapter should be out around next Wednesday or Friday. Tests hit like a wrecking ball, so I'll write when I can, but no guarantees.


	6. Chapter 4

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

Downtown Vale, Remnant

5 Days after Arrival

Ruby was confused. The tall guy who had threatened Yang and Blake was back. She spotted him when she and the rest of her team ran into Professor Port's class. He was lounging in the upper row, twirling a large knife with his left hand, without even looking at it. As he did so, he was writing in a well-used notebook that was in front of him with his right hand. She and her team sat in the front row, but she kept glancing back at the top row.

"Mr. …Kristiansen is it," Professor Port suddenly asked.

"Yes sir, but I prefer Jäger" was the immediate reply, as he caught the knife by the blade.

"I take it you know your way around that weapon," was Port's observation.

A humorless laugh was the response. "Sir, if it can kill in any way, shape, or form, I know how to use it precisely for that purpose." He paused. "I am assuming that you have something in that cage."

"Yes," Port replied. "One of my older students captured it as a test for the younger students."

"And what will happen if I can kill it without using a weapon," was the question.

The entire class burst into laughter. "My dear boy," Port said, "it is impossible to kill a Grimm without a weapon. People have tried, out of desperation of course, and all died."

Jäger stood and cracked his knuckles. "Well then, with yourself here, I doubt I will be in much danger if I fail." Leaving the knife on the table, next to his notebook, he reached into his waistband and pulled the same weapon he had 4 days ago when they came across him and Ozpin in the hallway.

—Line Break—

POV Switch

Jäger walked down to the open center of the classroom. Standing 30 feet from the cage, he readied himself.

Port sighed at the apparent arrogance of his student. "Very well. The match begins…" He raised his ax. "Now," he cried as the ax broke the lock.

The door to the cage sprung open and a creature looking vaguely like a warthog or boar ran out. Taking one look at Jäger, the Grimm charged. At the last moment, Jäger dodged sideways, his right hand flinging out to grasp the Grimm's tusk. Hauling himself onto the creature's back, Jäger then proceeded to throw himself off the opposite side of the Grimm, wrenching its head around with an almighty crack. Rolling, Jäger sprang to his feet, prepared to throw himself upon the downed monster, but it was unnecessary. His plan had worked, and he had broken the Grimm's neck. As it faded into shadow, Jäger dusted himself off and looked at Port.

"I do believe I have proven my point sir."

With that he returned to his seat, grabbed his weapons and notebook, and left.

—Line Break—

POV Switch

Ruby stared at Jäger's retreating back with something akin to awe. The class was completely silent, trying to process what they had just seen. Eventually, Port dismissed the class.

"Did you guys see that," Ruby exclaimed. "He killed a boarbatusk without his weapons. I didn't think that was even possible."

"Thank you for that glowing recommendation Ruby," came the sarcastic drawl from behind the eight. Jäger stepped out of the shadows as they all turned around. "You all are to follow me. Ozpin's orders."

Jäger led them to the elevator, and, once everyone was inside, hit the button to take it to Ozpin's office. That done, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. His eyes snapped open again right as the doors opened, and he walked out into the Headmaster's office.

"Teams JNPR and RWBY as requested sir."

"Thank you Jäger. You may wait or leave if you wish," was Ozpin's reply.

"I'll stay sir. I think getting a head start would be a good idea, so we will be having a quick session before their next class."

"Very well." Ozpin turned to the two teams standing before him as Jäger made his way over to the elevator. "I have decided that all of you are to receive supplementary combat training from Jäger. He will be…"

Yang immediately interrupted. "Sir, you can't be serious! He threatened to kill Blake and me!"

Ozpin set his hands on his desk. "Ms. Xiao Long, I am most definitely serious. Jäger is an extremely skilled fighter, to the point that he even managed to injure me, something that I assure you has not occurred in quite some time. So, he is doing this a favor to me and as an apology. You will treat him with the same respect you would me or any other teacher here." He straightened. "Now go. I am sure he has much to do with you."

—Line Break—

POV Switch

Jäger watched impassively as Blondie stormed into the elevator, a furious expression on her face. The rest of the teams followed more slowly.

"You will all return to your quarters and change into exercise clothes. You will meet me on the training field in 10 minutes. For every 20 seconds any one of you are late, everyone else will do burpees until I am satisfied, followed by 20 consecutive pullups."

With that, the doors dinged open and Jäger stalked off in the direction of the training field. Teams RWBY and JNPR took one look at each other and sprinted for the dorms.

10 Minutes Later

Ruby, Blake, Weiss, Pyrrha, Jaune, Nora, and Ren all walked onto the field wearing the same clothes they had been wearing when Jäger had first spotted them in the Emerald Forest. Yang lagged slightly behind.

Jäger looked at his watch. "Due to Ms. Long being 40 seconds late, everyone will do 40 burpees, followed by 20 pullups." He turned. "Ms. Long, you will stand there while they complete each exercise. Begin!"

The seven teens dropped to the ground and began doing burpees while Jäger walked up to Yang.

"Ms. Long, next time, which will be tomorrow morning, I expect you to be down here on time. If this habit persists, I will work your teammates and classmates harder and harder." His voice dropped to a whisper, but hardened at the same time. "Eventually, they will become so angry at you that they will force you to obey, most likely after hazing you in some way, be it physical or psychological. So unless you wish to alienate the remainder of your team, I would arrive on time."

He turned to the others. "Let's go, let's go!" he shouted. "My grandmother could have been done by now! Move it, move it, move it!"

Panting at the exertion, the seven came to a rest as they finished. Out of them, Pyrrha was in the best condition, with Jaune and Ruby at the bottom.

"Right," Jäger yelled. "We will now commence with the workout. It will consist of a two-mile run, followed by five sets of 15 pushups, 25 triceps dips, 30 crunches, 5 pullups and a one-minute plank. We will then cool down with another two-mile run. You will have an hour to complete this, if you fail, for every minute over that time, I will be waking you up fifteen minutes earlier tomorrow morning. As of right now, wake up is at 06:30." Groans answered his statement. Surprising all of them, Jäger grinned, but it only served to enhance the aura of menace surrounding him. "Now, now, complaining won't get you anywhere. Let's begin. Time starts…now." With that he took off in a light jog, the others streaming behind him.

—Line Break—

Later

Teams RWBY and JNPR dropped to the ground, completely exhausted. Jäger stood there, looking as he always did, with only the lightest sheen of sweat to show that he had done everything they had and more. Jäger glanced at his watch.

"You were two minutes and thirty seconds over an hour. That means wakeup tomorrow will be at 05:45. Be ready when I come to your rooms. Bring your weapons with you." He turned and began to walk away. "Oh," he said as he half turned back. "Next time, wear gym clothes, not your combat outfits. T-shirts and athletic shorts with running shoes. It will make everything easier."


	7. Chapter 5

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

Beacon

Same Day

Jäger walked into Ozpin's office. "They have a lot to work on, but not one of them quit. If I'm being honest, I'm impressed. Not that I will be telling them."

Ozpin looked at him. "You would gain yourself a large amount of good will with them if you did tell them that you are impressed."

Jäger snorted. "You will forgive me, sir, but I am not here to gain myself good will. You offered me a position here because, I suspect, you have knowledge that something is going to happen. Let's be honest sir, why else would you hire a man like me? I know exactly what I am. I have a bevy of mental issues, including, but not limited to, PTSD, borderline sociopathy, as well as a healthy dose of paranoia, all due to my experiences. The majority of my experience in combat does not carry over to training hunters and huntresses, mainly because I did not kill Grimm, I killed people. Living, breathing people. To quote a man I admire more than anyone else, the first time you blow someone away is not an insignificant event." Jäger whirled around and began pacing. Without him noticing, Ozpin lightly grasped the handle of his cane. "I have killed legions of men Ozpin. More men than I could count. For a while, when I started, I was almost obsessed with becoming the best sniper every. And how do you measure how good a sniper is? You count how many kills he has. I counted Ozpin, I counted every single one. Most of them were while pulling less than legal operations. I made it to 150 before I had a mental breakdown while I was at home, and that was after three years. Luckily it was while I was on base, the guys I'd been through hell with restrained me from doing anything stupid until I calmed down. After that, I spent 6 months in intensive therapy with a military psychologist. The only reason it worked was because I respected him for having been a corpsman before getting his doctorate." He turned back, looking drained. "I'm tired Ozpin. I'm not even 30 yet, and I feel as if I am 50." He sat down against the wall. "I know how to do one thing. I know how to kill." He looked up, a combination fury and resignation in his eyes. "So tell me Ozpin, why did you hire me? Do you want me to turn them into perfect little soldiers? I can, and they will be able kill without remorse, hell, they would kill until the world ran red if you ordered them."

Ozpin stood from his desk, slamming his fists onto the top. "I would never do that to children," he all but yelled with ice in his voice. Then he sighed, looking, like Jäger, older than he was. "But you are right, I do know something. Something is coming James, and I do not know what. All I know is that it will shape this world and its children forever, just like the Great War shaped me." He leveled a stern gaze at Jäger. "I want them able to combat whatever comes. To distinguish right from wrong and act in accordance with those principles, even if it means doing something unpleasant. But most importantly, I want them to be able to persevere, no matter what happens."

Jäger gazed at him searchingly, looking for any signs of deceit. "Very well. I can do that." He went to walk away, and then turned back. "There was once a historian from my world. His name was Heraclitus. Ancient philosopher, he focused on metaphysics and ethics mostly. One of his quotes I've tried to emulate was, 'Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.' It took quite a long time, but I became the warrior. So which do you want Ozpin? Warriors or fighters? The Arc kid will never be a warrior, he doesn't have the temperament for it. But the other could be." His eyes held a clear warning. "I could make the others warriors though, but it would not be good for them." He paused, waging an internal war. "Actually, no. They will be fighters. Nothing more. I will not subject them to parts of what I went through." Jäger looked up at Ozpin. "They will fight, but another will have to lead." With that he walked to the elevator and disappeared behind the closing doors.

—Line Break—

Next Day

Teams RWBY and JNPR all slept peacefully in their beds, thoroughly exhausted after yesterday's workout. Suddenly the sound of explosions reverberated throughout both rooms. Ruby and Blake literally fell out of their beds, while the others jumped up, hearts racing.

—Line Break—

Flashback, 5 minutes previous

Jäger came to a stop outside of the teams doors. Looking at his watch, it read 05:40. He was dressed in black cargo pants, boots and a black t-shirt, the front of which had a grinning skull over crossed M-16A4's. The back said simply, 'Mess with the best, die like the rest.' He stepped up to each door and listened intently, hearing naught but silence. Glancing at his watch again, he sighed and reached into his pocket. Withdrawing a zippo lighter, he flipped it open and spun the wheel, lighting the flame. Then, his hand disappeared again and came out with two sets of firecrackers with long fuses. Lighting the explosives, he tossed one into each room, stepped back and waited. Hearing the sound of the explosions, he crossed his arms and stood across the hallway. Teams RWBY and JNPR each piled out of their rooms two see who had pranked them. They collectively paled when they spotted Jäger.

"When I said wakeup at 05:45 and that you should be ready when I get here that meant that I would be here at 05:45! Not that you should be getting up at 05:45! Move," he shouted.

The teams scrambled back inside, throwing on clothes and grabbing their weapons. Blake was the first out, followed by the rest of her team. Jäger stood there, looking exceedingly irritated.

"You will all follow me, silently" he emphasized. He led them down to one of Beacon's many training rooms. Inside, a white line had been painted across the entirety of the room and, at varying distances, rectangular pieces of paper were suspended from a series of lines.

—Line Break—

POV Switch

Upon entering the room, Jäger had the teens stand in a semicircle facing him, with his back to the targets. "Right. First things first. Under no circumstances is anyone to cross the white line. Period. That is the firing line, and I'd rather not have to do the paperwork associated with someone taking a round to the head in my 'class'." He turned to Pyrrha. "Ms. Nikos, if you would please hand me Milo in rifle form." Looking slightly bewildered, Pyrrha did as requested, shifting Milo into its rifle form. "How many shots before you have to reload and what type of action is it," Jäger asked.

"I'm not sure I understand," was Pyrrha's reply.

Jäger sighed. "Ok, let's start from the beginning. In most rifles, there are two types of actions: bolt-action and automatic. My M40A5 is a bolt action, while my HK416 is an automatic action. Now, what do those two mean. Bolt action means that after every shot, I have to manually work the bolt in order to reload the weapon and fire again. The result is increased accuracy, but at the cost of fire rate. An automatic action means that, every time a round is fired, the gases released will automatically push the bolt back and reload another round. So, is this a bolt action or automatic?"

"Automatic," was Pyrrha's reply, "with ten rounds before reloading."

"Good," Jäger responded. "You're learning. Now, I'm assuming the weapon is a semiautomatic?"

Again, confusion was his reply.

"Right, I forgot that despite the fact you all have firearms you know next to nothing about them. Ok, a semiautomatic rifle means that you have to pull the trigger in order to shoot each round. Automatic weapons, you simply hold down the trigger and the weapon will fire until empty. So, semi or automatic?"

"Semiautomatic."

"Good." Jäger turned and walked over to the firing line. Settling himself, he paused for a second. Then, he raised the rifle and fired off ten shots in as many seconds. Switching the rifle to his left hand, he pulled in the target.

"All of you come over here," he said.

The teams walked up. Jäger proceeded to point out each of the impacts onto the target. "I have never fired this weapon before. And yet, I managed to put all ten shots within a 4 inch circle. Each of you will be able to do the same once I am one with you. Now, disassemble your weapons."

All of the teens looked aghast. "What do you mean disassemble them," Ruby shouted. "That is only done by the people who build the weapons, and even then, only to repair them."

Now it was Jäger's turn to look aghast. "You mean to tell me that you never field-strip your weapons to clean them? Mr Arc and Ms. Schnee are exempt as they carry blade weapons, but since everyone else's weapons have a firearm component, you should be disassembling and cleaning them every time your use them. Mr. Lie, please hand me one of your weapons."

Ren did so. Jäger accepted Storm Flower and released the magazine, catching it before it could hit the ground. Then, he racked the slide to eject the round in the chamber and locked the slide back. With his right thumb, he hit the slide release, but only let it come forward a little. Then, he pressed a small circle on the same side as the ejection port, causing the slide lock to pop out. He pulled the slide lock out completely and then, to the utter horror of everyone watching, took the slide off completely. Setting the lower down completely, he removed the spring, recoil guide and barrel. Setting the slide down next to the lower, along with the spring and guide, he held the barrel up to his eye.

"Case in point," he said. "Look down the barrel. See all that particulate in the grooves? That is unexploded dust or gunpowder. The particulate causes the round to rotate in odd ways, leading to decreased accuracy, as well as chances to jam or misfire."

Ren looked near to tears. He, and the others, was incapable of speech.

Jäger looked up, first noticing the horrorstruck expressions of the teens. "Jesus, is there some type of stigma against taking your weapons apart? How do you people manage to shoot accurately at all if you don't perform basic weapons maintenance?" He looked around. "Right," he says, reassembling Storm Flower, "Each of you will break down and reassemble your weapons 5 times before we do anything. After you break it down the first time, you will present me with the barrel, and I will determine if it is in suitable condition for firing. Furthermore, from now on, you will clean your weapon after every time it is fired." He handed Ren the gun back. "I will now move among each of you, teaching you how to break down and reassemble your weapons."

—Line Break—

Later

"Right, you all now know how to break down, clean, and reassemble your weapons. You will do see every time your fire them. Now, off to class with you."

The teams ran off, back to their dorms. Jäger turned. "Do you all have some sort of stigma against taking weapons apart? Mr. Lie looked like he was going to cry when I disassembled Storm Flower."

Ozpin stepped out of the shadows. "Ahh. I was wondering if that would become an issue. As you know, our Aura, and the Semblance that comes with it, is the manifestation of our souls. Since we us our weapons in conjunction with our Aura and Semblance, they become almost part of ourselves, part of our very souls. To take one apart is to disassemble part of ourselves. As such, there is a stigma against taking one's weapons apart."

"Well that's stupid," was Jäger's reply. "We deconstruct ourselves all the time. Why else do psychologists and psychiatrists exist? I will break them of that unfortunate habit, I promise you that."


	8. Chapter 6

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

 **A/N: So, I keep getting reviews on how Jäger is messed up and shouldn't have been active duty or how Ozpin shouldn't let him be around the kids at Beacon due to the risk he is, etc. Ladies and Gentlemen, that is the point. Jäger's mental health is going to be a continuing plot point, and it will get better or worse depending on what is going on around him. As events move towards a semblance of normality, he will improve. As soon as things begin resembling other instances from his past, he will decline. Here's the thing about Jäger. Most of his mental issues are combat related, and as such, they only appear when he is in combat. Those issues being paranoia and borderline sociopathy. Outside of combat, he will act as what passes for normal for an operator with PTSD who just got dropped in another universe. That said, on to the next chapter.**

Beacon

Later that Week

Morning found Jäger in the main hall, with the rest of the first year students. Goodwitch stood on the stage before them.

"Good morning," she said. "Today we will be holding combat simulations. Pairs will be randomly selected, and then the order will be generated." She turned away. "Let us begin."

Across the screen, boxes began turning, reminding Jäger of a Las Vegas slot machine. Soon, pairs began to appear. Jäger stilled, intently searching for himself. When he finally spotted his picture, he sighed internally.

'Randomly selected my ass,' he thought. The pictures staring down at him were himself and none other than Pyrrha Nikos. And of course, as numbers began to appear above every pair, they were selected to go first.

"Mr. Kristiansen and Ms. Nikos, into the ring please."

"A moment if you please, Ms. Goodwitch. I need to switch my ammunition," Jäger called. Setting his rifle case down onto the ground, he unzipped it and flipped it open. Inside was a Sig Sauer MCX with an 8-inch barrel, chambered in .300 Blackout. Loading the weapon, Jäger selected a thirty round magazine with chalk rounds. Then, he drew his pistol from his hip extender and loaded that with chalk rounds. Finally, he stood and pulled on his plate carrier and tactical vest, loaded down with two flashbangs, four more MCX magazines and five more for his pistol. Bouncing slightly to get all his equipment to settle, Jäger holstered his pistol. He looked up at Pyrrha. "Ready when you are," he said as he stepped into the ring. Goodwitch dimmed the lights.

"Ready," she said. "Begin."

Time slowed for Jäger as he switched from conscious thought to instinct and logic.

—Line Break—

POV Switch

Pyrrha took the offensive immediately, while Jäger simply stood there. Utilizing her semblance to propel herself forward, she sprinted at Jäger, Milo held out to the side and Akouo in front of her. Once she got within four yards of Jäger, she leapt, her right arm swinging Milo around to take Jäger in the heart. Then, before the blow could land, Jäger moved. He turned sideways, into Pyrrha's strike, so Milo blade skidded off his back, but placed his shoulder between her right arm and Akouo. His right hand flashed upward, grasped her left shoulder, and pulled. Pyrrha's momentum and jump worked against her, adding more power to Jäger's throw, and she was slammed into the ground behind him. Jäger turned to face her and rolled backwards to avoid her upwards stab as she flipped back to her feet. Finally raising his weapon, Jäger let off a three round bust, sending Pyrrha diving left to avoid the rounds. She was forced to sprint in the same direction as Jäger turned with her, firing continuously in an attempt to hit her. The ring fell silent as Jäger's weapon clicked empty. "Pyrrha," he called. "Catch." Rather than catch the black cylinder he had just thrown at her, Pyrrha raised Akouo and let it bounce off the surface of the shield. Unfortunately, it rolled off Akouo and between her feet before detonating. Her eyes were filled with a white light, blinding her of all else, while all sound simply stopped. She stumbled, and fell, completely disoriented by the lack of sight and hearing, and the resulting loss of balance. She felt three impacts on her torso, and then she allowed herself to fall into unconsciousness.

—Line Break—

POV Switch

Jäger watched impassively as Pyrrha was carried out of the ring on a stretcher, still unconscious from the effects of the flashbang. He turned to Goodwitch. "If you will excuse me, I am going to go see after the condition of my opponent." With that, he turned and left, quickly making his way through the halls of Beacon to the infirmary. Getting there, he wasted little time finding the nurse caring for Pyrrha. "She was subjected to 180 decibels and 7 million Candela from approximately five feet away, as well as an accompanying concussive blast. I believe her greaves shielded her from the worst of the impact, but you might want to check anyway."

"And how do you know all this," the nurse demanded.

"Because it was my weapons that caused the damage," was Jäger's simple reply. The nurse simply glared at him before bustling around Pyrrha, checking her for any residual effects of the flashbang.

Within a few minutes, Pyrrha came to, slowly opening her eyes and looking around. Seeing Jäger, she immediately began bombarding him with questions.

"What was that? Why was it so loud and bright? Why did it make me fall? Where did you get it? How do you make them...?"

Jäger chuckled, a sound Pyrrha, and the rest of team JNPR and team RWBY, who were standing in the doorway, had never heard.

"Calm down Pyrrha. To answer your questions, that was an M84 Stun Grenade. It utilizes a combination of magnesium and ammonium nitrate to produce 180 decibels and 7 million Candela. The result is blindness for approximately five seconds combined with loss of hearing. The sound wave also disrupts the fluid in the inner ear, which leads to loss of balance. The combined effects temporarily stun the target, leaving them vulnerable. As for where I got it, they are part of the small arsenal I have. And I do not know specifically how to make them."

Pyrrha appeared thoughtful for a moment. "Wait, you said stun grenade. Does that mean that there are grenades that do not stun?"

"Yes. The M67 hand grenade consists of a high explosive charge surrounded by a steel casing and a 4-second fuse. Upon detonation, he explosive propels steel fragments from the casing at high speeds, resulting in a fatality radius of 16 feet and an injury radius of 49 feet. I have not tested their effectiveness against Aura, and will not be doing so until I am in a combat situation, as the risk is too high." He looked up, noticing the others in the doorway. "If you will excuse me, I have a weapon to clean." With that, he left.

—Line Break—

POV Switch

Pyrrha watched Jäger as he walked out of the infirmary. Nary a second later, her friends had her surrounded. Ruby began talking immediately.

"Pyrrha you were fantastic! I know you would have beaten everybody else. How did he beat you?"

Pyrrha laughed, then winced and grabbed her temples. "Sorry, I still have a headache from that stun grenade."

Ruby broke in. "Stun grenade? Is that what that was?"

"Yes," Pyrrha replied. "He was just explaining it to me."

Yang and Jaune spoke at the same time. "I don't like him. He's dangerous." They then looked at each other, and Jaune shrugged.

"What," he asked. "I'm just pointing out the obvious. He specifically said that he was changing his ammunition, which means he walks around with a weapon that he considers dangerous. On top of that, he killed a Boarbatusk with his bare hands, and was playing with that knife of his without even looking!"

Jäger's head popped in the door and Pyrrha jumped in surprise. "The correct term, Mr Arc, is a KA-BAR," he said, startling everyone. His head disappeared again, and, this time, footsteps were heard going down the hall.

Jaune turned back. "My point exactly."

 **A/N: If anyone is interested, Jäger's 'song' for this series is the Warrior Song Hard Corps. You can find it on YouTube. Yes, Pyrrha's opening move in the fight was a nod to her (SPOILER ALERT) death. Also, two questions. One, what should Jäger's semblance be? I already have an idea that is based of his name and heritage, both of which are Norwegian if you hadn't noticed, props to anyone who can guess. That will be appearing in two or three chapters, so mid-March timeframe. Two, SPOILER ALERT, who should I save? Pyrrha's death pissed me off more than I thought possible, but I also thought Penny was a good character. No save for Yang though, she is still getting maimed. PM/Review with your ideas.**


	9. Chapter 7

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

Later that day

Beacon

Jäger was sitting by himself in the cafeteria, eating lunch. While the food was not the best by any means, it was better than some MRE's he had had previously, so he didn't complain or give an outward sign that he would rather be eating something else. As he scanned the room while chewing, he suddenly went completely still. He had spotted a Faunus. Now, that wasn't the shocking or distressing aspect, as he had adapted rather quickly to people with animal characteristics and features. Rather, he found himself slowly filling with rage as a female Faunus was assaulted by a racist that would have put the worst in his world to shame. Seeing that no one was going to help her he stood and walked over to the table that was crewed by team CRDL.

"Mr. Winchester," he bit out with steel in his voice, "you WILL release the lady and cease your obnoxious behavior."

"Oh I am, am I," was Cardin's reply, as he looked Jäger up and down. He stood there, arms crossed, clad in tan combat boots, MARPAT woodland pants, and a black shirt with a skull wearing a rebreather over a crossed knife and paddle. "You think your all hot stuff because you beat Nikos, don't you? Well, you ain't got none of your weapons and, frankly, you don't look that tough. So fuck off and don't come over here again."

Jäger sighed. "Well, I tried to do this the easy way." With that, he pulled his right sleeve up to the shoulder, exposing a tattoo. A skull with horns above twin Sig runes stood out starkly on his skin. "Look closely Winchester," Jäger said.

Cardin released the Faunus' ears and stood, bending over until his nose was an inch from Jäger's shoulder. "Is this close enough," he asked sarcastically.

Jäger motioned with his head for the Faunus to leave. Returning his attention to Cardin, his only response was a simple, "yes," before he lunged. His shoulder made solid contact with Cardin's nose, not enough to break it, but more than enough to stun him. Then, his left hand flashed under and up in a textbook uppercut that threw Cardin up and onto the table. Dove went to move towards Jäger, but before he could make it more than a few steps, Jäger stopped him with a simple glare. Grabbing Cardin by the throat, Jäger dragged him across the top of the table and threw him off the end.

"If you ever lay a hand on anyone again outside of the training room, you will not have a good time Winchester. I don't like bullies, not in the slightest. And I like racists even less." With that, he straightened, looked right at Professor Goodwitch, and spoke. "Since I am finished doing your job, I'll save you the trouble of telling me to go to Ozpin's office." He spat. "Deal with this filth before I do so." With that parting shot, he left. Cardin tried to stand, but collapsed, groaning in pain.

—Line Break—

POV Switch

RWBY and JNPR stared after Jäger in shock. Ren spoke first, and his voice, as always, perfectly level. "While I disagree with the route he took, Jäger's method was singularly effective."

Jaune spoke up. "This is only reinforcing my point! He is dangerous. You saw what he did to Cardin, it's inexcusable. His reasons might be noble, but the method was too extreme."

—Line Break—

POV Switch

Jäger slowly made his way to the elevator and then up to Ozpin's office. Entering, he stood at attention before Ozpin's desk. Ozpin Looked up.

"Ahh, James, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Sir, no sir," Jäger said in a monotone. "Professor Goodwitch ordered this student here after he responded to another student assaulting a Faunus."

Ozpin sat back, folding his hands together. "And how did you respond to this assault?"

"Sir, the student goaded the offender into placing himself in a disadvantageous position and the proceeded to stun the offender with a shoulder strike to the nose, followed by an uppercut under the jaw, which threw the offender onto the table. Seizing the opportunity to make a point, this student finished by dragging the offender the length of the table by his neck and then throwing him off the end. Immediately following, this student was ordered to your office by Professor Goodwitch."

Ozpin looked over Jäger's shoulder. "Is this an accurate retelling Glynda?"

Goodwitch stepped forward. "Yes Oz, except for one part. I did not send Mr. Kristiansen up here, rather he looked at me and said, 'since I am done doing your job, I will save you the trouble and go to Ozpin's office.'"

"Very well." Ozpin looked at Jäger. "You realize I have to punish you for this."

"It can't be worse than anything the Corps did, either in training or as a punishment."

Ozpin smirked. "After classes today you will meet me on the training field. We will be unlocking your Aura and determining your semblance."

—Line Break—

Later

The next time Ruby saw Jäger was in Professor Oobleck's class. Unlike in Professor Port's class, he was sitting up straight instead of lounging, and his KA-BAR was nowhere to be seen. His hand was moving across the page as fast, if not faster, than Oobleck's speech. Cardin was also there, sitting behind Jaune.

Oobleck was speaking. "Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events! Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day! Now! Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?"

A few of the students raised their hands.

"Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence! I mean, I mean, I mean just look at what happened to White Fang! Now, which one of you young scallions can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the War?" Weiss raised her hand. "Yes?"

"The battle of Fort Castle," she answered.

"Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

Cardin spoke up. "Well, it is a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier."

Jäger sighed audibly from the back of the classroom.

"Really Cardin? I thought that the beating I gave you an hour ago would have curbed your racism. I guess not." He turned to Oobleck. "Tactically speaking, Lagune did the correct thing by attempting to ambush the enemy at night with a numerically superior force. What he failed to recognize, probably out of arrogance, was that attacking a force that has near perfect vision at night gives them the advantage, as his human troops were unable to maintain visual contact. Had he responded to the first contact the same way Hannibal fought a Cannae, he might have succeeded."

"Mr. Kristiansen, who is Hannibal? I have not heard of him before," Oobleck said.

"Hannibal Barca was an ancient general where I am from. Most historians and military theorists revere him as having been one of the best generals of the ancient era. At Cannae, when faced with a larger enemy force, he placed his lighter armed troops in the center of his lines, and when the Romans attacked, he had his center fall back, producing a concave shape. The Romans pressed forward, thinking they were winning, and before they could react, Hannibal ordered his flanks to crash inwards. The Romans were surrounded, and both Legions were annihilated, amounting to about 86,400 dead or captured. Hannibal's force numbered around 50,000"

The class sat in silence, each realizing that had Lagune acted in this manner, the Faunus War might have ended very differently.

After a few minutes, Oobleck dismissed the class, still thinking heavily.

Teams RWBY and JNPR walked out of the room, just behind Jäger. They were surprised, however, when, rather than turning to the dorms, he walked into the armory, just down the hall. They followed him in, and found him standing before three lockers, all of which were opened. Over his shirt was a bulky black vest, with another vest over that. He was peering into all of the lockers, obviously thinking carefully.

—Line Break—

POV Switch

Jäger paused thoughtfully before his lockers, trying to decide what to bring. He was under no illusions that he and Ozpin were going to spar, especially since he was interested in seeing what he could do with aura.

'Up close and personal against Ozpin would be suicide, so I need to keep my distance. So no shotguns. Pistol as a matter of course, but what else? LMG takes too long to reload, so hats out, and a sniper would be ineffective since I won't be able to put enough distance between us to make it effective. Sub-gun would make ammo lighter, but at the cost of range. So, something light, but with range. HK416 it is.'

Reaching in, he grabbed the rifle, loading it with a 30 round magazine. He slid four more into his vest, along with four pistol magazines. He clipped two M84's and two M67's to his vest, along with a six-inch boot dagger on his left shoulder and a KA-BAR on his hip. His P220 went into his hip extender; leaving the weapon directly in his grip should he simply reach downwards.

Shutting all three lockers, he headed out of the armory. Passing RWBY and JNPR, he spoke.

"If you are interested, Ozpin is going to be unlocking my Aura on the training field, after which we will most likely spar. Feel free to watch."

With that, he left. Finding Ozpin at the training field, he walked up and stood next to him.

"You're heavily armed," was all Ozpin said.

"I want a spar after you unlock my aura. Also, it will give me a chance to test a few of my weapons systems, as I know you can handle yourself."

"Very well," Ozpin said. "Let us begin."

He turned and placed his hands on Jäger's shoulders.

His voice took on an ethereal quality. " _For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee._ "

As Ozpin spoke, two things happened. One, Jäger began glowing as his aura became visible. It was the deep blue of the North Atlantic flecked with the crimson of blood. Two, teams RWBY and JNPR walked up, noticing what was taking place.

As Ozpin finished, he stepped back, releasing Jäger. As he did so, Jäger fell to his knees, his aura flaring wildly around him.

"Professor, what is going on," Ruby asked. "That doesn't normally happen, does it?"

"No," Ozpin replied thoughtfully, "it does not."

Before he could speak again, Jäger's aura flashed, and, in an instant, was sucked into his body. An explosive breath escaped him, and he pounded his fist into the ground. Even from where Ozpin, Ruby, and the others stood, they could see he cords of his muscles and the veins standing out in stark relief.

Suddenly, startling all there, Jäger let out an animalistic howl, he head arcing back to face the sky. His hands flew up to his shoulders, one releasing the catches on his tactical vest and plate carrier, while the other snatched his KA-BAR from its sheath. Turning, he faced Ozpin and the teams, chest heaving as he panted. His eyes were alight with an animalistic bloodlust and fury. Letting out a terrifying scream, he charged at them, sprinting nearly as fast as Weiss after one of her glyphs. His intent was clear.

Ozpin reacted instantly. Swinging his cane around, he pushed the students back, while reversing the grip. Letting Jäger close the distance, he waited for the last moment before engaging, sending Jäger flying back. Undaunted, Jäger simply shook his head and charged again, this time sliding low and stabbing at Ozpin's thigh. His knife was met by Ozpin's cane and before he could react, Ozpin's foot flew around in a spin kick, smashing into Jäger's face, driving his head into the ground with enough force that it bounced back up for the return strike. The teens had all activated their weapons at this point, and Yang was looking like she would relish the fight.

"Professor," Ruby called, "What do we do?"

Ozpin turned to look back, and that distraction cost him. Capitalizing upon his opponent's inattentiveness, Jäger's hand snapped out and grabbed Ozpin's ankle. Standing, he dragged Ozpin off his feet and, with a mighty heave, threw the man away from him, across the training field. Then, Jäger turned to face the teens, letting lose another primal scream.

Ruby acted quickly. "Surround him," she ordered. "He'll be disadvantaged since we can hit him from all angles!"

As Jäger charged, the teens did as ordered. Yang, Pyrrha, Blake and Nora moved to cover his flanks and rear, while Ren, Jaune, Weiss, and Ruby took the front. Ruby swung Crimson Rose, planting the scythe end in front of Jäger's charging form, just in time to pull the trigger. The dust equivalent of a .50 BMG smashed into his face, sending him flipping backwards long enough for the teens to set themselves. Jäger stood, roaring in rage. Yang sprinted forward, smashing her fist into the back of his head and firing Ember Celica at the same time. Jäger face planted into the ground again. This time, rather than getting up, he lay there.

The teens cautiously advanced, ready to engage him should he move. As they got closer, Weiss toed his still form, looking for a reaction. Behind the teens, Ozpin yelled.

"Don't!" he cried. But it was too late.

Jäger grabbed Nora by the ankle and, swinging her like a bat, bowled over the other seven before releasing Nora and sending her flying. He then pounced on Yang, grabbing her by the hair and dragging her up to face level. Before he could do anything, however, Ozpin was there, forcing him to drop the blonde.

It seemed like the professor was everywhere at the same time. Countless strikes landed on Jäger's body, from his knees to his temples. Unable to defend against such an assault, Jäger simply took the punishment, doing his best to fight back. Finally, Ozpin grasped his cane by the bottom and smashed the sliver hand piece into Jäger's jaw, temple, and neck in quick succession. The Marine fell and did not stir.

—Line Break—

Later

Infirmary

Jäger slowly came to. "What the fuck did that truck have against me?" he groaned.

Ozpin stood at the end of his bed, looking, for the first time, actually angry. Teams RWBY and JNPR was there as well.

"Mr. Kristiansen, you have exactly three seconds to tell me exactly what that was before I throw you bodily from Beacon and call for General Ironwood to come and…look after you."

"What color was my aura," Jäger asked. Seeing Ozpin go to speak, he held his hand up. "I promise, it is relevant."

Nora spoke from behind Ozpin. "It was a deep blue with crimson flecks."

Jäger's head slumped back against his pillow. "I feared as such." Sighing, he began to explain.

"Where is come from, there was a race of people known as the Vikings or the Norse. The lived in the far north of the continent, and, in ancient times, had to subsist by raiding and pillaging their neighbors. They became the most feared seamen in history, covering thousands of miles across harsh seas in wooden boats to raid. My grandfather was the descendant of these people. It would appear I have some of their less pleasant aspects."

He paused, and then began to spoke again, his tone deathly serious. "They developed specific type of warrior whose only job was to cause mass casualties and confusion. They were the ultimate shock troops, men who were without fear because they couldn't feel pain. They were called the berserkrs or berserkers. Before battle, they would descend into a trance, called the berserkrgang, to the point that they could not distinguish behind friend and foe. But it gave them superhuman strength, and loss of pain. Neither swords nor axes could bite them; meaning that they would keep fighting until they died or everyone had been killed." He looked at the teens. "If that ever happens again, do not try to fight me. Run. Run for Ozpin, run for Goodwitch, and hope that I do not catch you."

He looked back at Ozpin. "Luckily, it would appear that I only switch when I use my Aura. Will you help me train, so that way I can use my aura without losing myself in the process? As of right now, I am no use in a fight except as over watch, as the second I have to activate my aura I become a threat to everyone around me."

Ozpin's eyes softened slightly. "I will help you. But," his eyes hardening again, "if you put my students at risk again I will deal with you. Permentantly"

"I would do the same," was Jäger's simple reply.

 **A/N: So, there we have it, Jäger's response to Cardin, and his semblance. For those of you who wanted to see him get a beat down, I do hope I obliged to your satisfaction. Also, kudos to those who guessed that it would be something Viking in origin. I always thought putting a berserker into a fight in RWBY would be interesting, seeing as they would literally fight until the dropped of exhaustion. This will reappear in flashbacks or off screen mentioning's, but it will not actually appear unless he is in a fight, and even then, sparingly. I don't want to super OP him. Plus, he realizes the danger he poses when he is in the rage and, despite how he may act, doesn't want to kill any of the teens. So no Jäger hulking out on the docks. Against Cinder though, if that happens? Definitely. Especially after she goes full Fall Maiden. Spring break starts next week, but I have tests out the ass this week, so no chapter until 3/10 or 3/14. Sorry, but fun in CA takes precedence.**

 **Alpah out.**


	10. Chapter 8

**A/N: First off, sorry I didn't get this out when I said I would. I was a little busy with family and then school and it completely slipped my mind. As you guys can see, the first season of the show is wrapping up here. Docks fight will be in the next chapter. Jäger aint gonna go nuts on the dock, so sorry. More background on that in this chapter though. Now, let's get started.**

Beacon

Jäger was by no means particularly close to the members of teams RWBY and JNPR, but that didn't mean he was blind. Part of his job had been observing hostile forces and positions, which translated into a highly acute perception of people's attitudes and movements. Thus, when Jaune began hanging around with Cardin and spending time away from his team, Jäger took note. He saw the tension between Jaune and Pyrrha, but decided not to act. Instead, as the other teams were winding down for the night, he made his way to the armory, carrying his rucksack.

He muttered to himself as he walked. "Ozpin said that the forest is not particularly dense, so there will be clearings. The trees have large, thick branches which make a stable platform. However, the clearings are not particularly large. And, of course, it is filled with Ursai. So, high caliber semiauto and a shotgun with a pistol as a matter of course." He paused for a second. "Also, need to talk to Ozpin about where I could get a set of axes made. I need a better melee weapon than just a KA-BAR and it will give me something to train with that might not kill someone."

Entering the armory, he quickly found and opened his lockers, selecting his weapons and ammunition with a cool efficiency that spoke of years of practice. He effortless grabbed two long cases, and, unzipping them, placed his Sig 716 semi-automatic rifle and Remington 870 12 gauge. Five magazines for the 716 went into its case, while a variety of shells for the 870 went into the sleeves. Double-aught buckshot, slug, flechette, buck-and-ball, even some super Rhodesian rounds. With that complete, he returned to his room and promptly passed out on his bed.

—Line Break—

Forever Fall

Next Day

Glynda led the students into the forest. "Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so. Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here by 4 o'clock. Have fun!"

Jäger handed Ruby his jar. "Would you fill this for me? I'll take over watch. Try to keep everyone on the north and west sides of the clearing." Seeing Ruby's nod, Jäger slinked off to one of the taller trees. Finding a good position from the ground, he swarmed up the trunk, quickly hauling himself into position. Unslinging his rifle, he wedged it into the fork of two branches and sighted in on teams RWBY and JNPR. Panning back and forth, he spotted a flash of movement on the ridge opposite his position. Smoothly traversing the rifle, he spotted team CRDL and Jaune lying atop the ridge. Behind the, was a cardboard box with the words 'Rapier Wasps' written on the outside. Jäger frowned. While Rapier Wasps were a nuisance normally, if that box contained an entire aggravated swarm, the other teams could be in severe danger, especially if taken by surprise. Seeing the five stand up, his thumb came up and flipped the safety off. A match grade, boat tailed hollow point was ready in the chamber.

—Line Break—

With Jaune

"And you're gonna do it," Cardin said.

Jaune blinked in confusion. "Do what?"

"Hit her with the sap!" Cardin snarled. "Either that, or I'll have a chat with Goodwitch, and you'll be on the first airship out of Beacon."

Jaune raised his arm, preparing himself to throw the jar of sap. Then he slumped in defeat. "No."

"What did you say?" Cardin growled.

Jaune's hand tensed around the jar. "I said... NO **!** " he cried, and flung the jar at Cardin. The jar hit Cardin's breastplate and shattered covering him with the sap.

"Oh, you've done it now," Cardin said menacingly, as Dove and Sky grabbed each of Jaune's arms.

—Line Break—

With Jäger

Jäger watched impassively as Cardin lifted Jaune from the ground with one hand and punched him to the ground. He was more concerned with the young Nevermores and other birds taking flight a few hundred yards behind Jaune and his tormentors, but when a bright flash filled the lower portion of his scope, he immediately swiveled down, centering the reticle on Cardin's sap covered chest. Then he noticed that it was Jaune who was still standing, radiating a faint silver nimbus of light. Cardin stood, and advanced on Jaune, but before he could land a blow, the woods behind them erupted as two Ursa Majors, and several Minors appeared, attracted by the smell of the sap. Jäger reacted instantly. The muzzle of his rifle snapped upwards, stopping just long enough to center on the chest of the first Major, who had stood on his hind legs, presenting an enormous target. The sniper fired a trio of rounds in as many seconds, all impacting within an inch of the center of the Ursa's chest. The beast fell to the ground, mortally wounded. In its death throes, its massive paw smacked the box containing the Rapier Wasps, sending it flying down to where Jäger and the others were gathered. The box ruptured, spilling its aggravated cargo. Jäger dropped from the tree with a curse. Quickly slinging his rifle, he brought his 870 forward and slid a super Rhodesian round into the chamber. Racking the pump forward, he took aim and fired. Behind him, Ren stood above Nora, who was lying on the ground in the fetal position. The round's cargo exited the barrel, turning into an ever-expanding cone of 400 birdshot and five buckshot. The round decimated the swarm of wasps, with Ren and Storm Flower aiding in the devastation. Jäger racked his slide and fired again, sending another Super through the swarm. As the rest of Team RWBY began to engage the wasps, Jäger racked his slide, loading a 12-gauge slug into the chamber. He sprinted up the ridgeline, Pyrrha hot on his heels. Upon reaching the top, he turned left and fired, blasting the head off an Ursa Minor. The remaining Major remained focused on Cardin and Jaune, while the rest of team CRDL fled in terror. Jäger quickly engaged the Minors from the flank, calmly eliminating them through judicious application of three-quarter inch holes to the torso. To his left, Jaune stepped in front of Cardin, who was on the ground, to block the Major's attack. He saw Pyrrha's hand come up, and Jaune's shield inexplicably reverse its path, blocking the Ursa's counterattack and allowing him to swiftly behead it. With the Minor's eliminated, Jäger retreated to stand next to Pyrrha, atop the ridge, but still inside the tree line. Weiss and Ruby joined them in time to see the death of the Major.

As Pyrrha lowered her hand, the faint nimbus of power that had been visible faded.

"Uhhh... What?" Ruby eloquently asked.

Weiss was equally amazed. "How did you...?"

Pyrrha smiled as she replied. "Well, Ruby has her speed, you have your glyphs, while Jäger has his rage. My Semblance is polarity."

"I resent that classification," Jäger chimed. "It isn't exactly something I can completely control, and I would have much rather had it be something different, instead of turning into a raging animal that can't feel pain."

Ruby replied with her usual naiveté. "Whoa, you can control poles..."

Jäger's hand slammed into his face with a hard smack.

Weiss replied with her usual sarcastic attitude. "No, you dunce! It means she has control over magnetism!"

"Magnets are cool, too..." Ruby whispered.

Jäger slung his shotgun and turned to walk off, closely followed by Pyrrha. "Wait, where are you going?" Weiss exclaimed.

Ruby chimed in. "Yeah! We gotta tell them what happened!"

"We could..." Pyrrha said. "Or perhaps we could keep it our little secret?"

"The situation has been dealt with in an effective manner, and, as far as Jaune is concerned, none of us were here. He knew I was on over watch, so he didn't necessarily recognize how close I was when I was eliminating the Minors." He shrugged. "There's no need."

With that he slipped into the forest.

 **A/N: Yes, I realize that this is over a week late. You have my apologies, real life hit like a freight train. I'm in the process of wrapping up this season, the fight on the docks will be entertaining with the way things are going in my head. Some of Jäger's issues will be coming out as the circumstances surrounding Torchwick and the White Fang hit a little too close to home for him. He has no sympathy for terrorists, which the White Fang most certainly are. So, rather brutal deaths are most definitely possible, i.e. .338 to the head, and similar. If this is a problem for you, consider this the warning. I'll do my best to get the chapter out by next Wednesday, but if next week is like the last two, no guarantees.**


	11. Chapter 9

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

 **A/N: Decided to be nice and, since I had some free time, get this chapter out as quickly as possible. So, without further ado, I give you the final chapter of Season One.**

 **WARNING: Graphic descriptions of violence are contained within. Reasoning: Jäger hates terrorists above all others, with those who harm innocents (another aspect of terrorism) coming a close second. Thus, he is less likely to be merciful to them. This is also part of my personal feelings regards those disgusting elements of our species that hardly deserve to be called human. My heart goes out to the victims of Brussels, and I pray that the perpetrators are faced with a swift and furious retribution.**

Same day

Immediately after returning to Beacon, Jäger sought out Ruby. Spotting her, he jogged forward before unconsciously following into step next to her.

"Ms. Rose, I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you," he began.

"Sure Jäger," was Ruby's quick reply. Her brow furrowed in confusion. "But what can I do that you can't," she asked.

Jäger laughed, but it was a sharp, caustic laugh. "Despite appearances, I am not without my flaws Ms. Rose. I do not know how to do everything. But as for what you can do for me, I need two weapons made."

Ruby's eyes lit up as if Christmas and her Birthday had come early and on the same day. Before she could speak, however, Jäger raised his hand, forestalling her.

"I'd like you to make twin axes for me. The handles are to be 18 inches long and made of oak or some other hardwood. Ironwood if possible, but don't focus on that aspect. The axes are to be bearded axes. The upper radius should start at the vertical axis, and then rotate ninety degrees to the horizontal, with a radius of four and a half inches. The second piece will begin where the first left off, and rotate ninety degrees back to the vertical, but the radius is to increase by one-quarter inch every fifteen degrees. Think you can do that?"

Ruby closed her eyes in order to visualize what Jäger had described. "I think so. Do you want the back of the lower portion that has the increasing radius to have an inner curve? And what do you want the alternate forms to be?"

"No alternate forms please. I am used to having one weapon be one weapon and not two or three at the same time. As for the curve, that would be fantastic."

Ruby grinned, bouncing up and down. "Great! I'll go get started!" She ran off without another word.

Jäger shook his head at the slightly odd girl and decided to head down to his apartment in Vale. He'd seen a few weapon systems in his armory that he wanted to get a bit more familiar with.

—Line Break—

Two Weeks Later

Ruby and her team were in downtown Vale for two purposes. One, Ruby had finally finished the axes Jäger had requested and was going to give them to him, and, two, Weiss wanted to spy on the arriving students from the other kingdoms to see if she could gain an advantage.

Before they could spot any students, the quartet noticed something unusual. Two Vale detectives were standing in front of a destroyed Dust shop. They were close enough to overhear the conversation, and didn't notice Jäger stepping up behind them, having come from further down the street.

"What happened?" Ruby asked the detective. His badge, visible on his hip, had the name Joel on its front, underneath the badge number.

"Robbery. Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle," was his reply as he walked over to his partner, whose name was Burnie, according to his badge.

"They left all the money again." Was Burnie's immediate comment to his partner, one that confused the team to no end.

"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much Dust?" Joel said.

Burnie's reply was sufficiently cynical for an overworked cop. "I don't know, an army?"

Joel looked at Burnie, as if daring him to agree. "You thinking White Fang?"

"I'm thinking we don't get paid enough for this," was the textbook reply.

Weiss crossed her arms and harrumphed. "The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates!"

Blake shot her a sharp glance. "What's your problem?"

Weiss turned, visibly winding up. "My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane."

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths," Blake replied, becoming more serious by the minute. "They're a collection of misguided Faunus."

"Misguided?" Weiss shrieked. "They want to wipe Humanity off the face of the planet!"

Jäger spoke. "This debate is going to take an age, so how about we go somewhere less public?" he pointedly suggested, glancing around at the docks.

The foursome whirled around, noticing him for the first time. Blake and Weiss quickly blushed, noticing that their argument had begun to draw attention, and quickly agreed.

—Line Break—

10 minutes Later

Jäger led the team into his warehouse. Leave it to this team to make a simple walk to a building an adventure. First the monkey Faunus that Weiss was intent on following, followed by that conspicuously strange girl. Something about her set of all of Jäger's warning bells, starting with the fact that she might as well have been the poster child for the Uncanny Valley. But it was Weiss and Blake who were really giving him a headache. They had restarted their argument right after the odd girl, Penny, had left.

"You realize you are defending an organization that hates Humanity, don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!" Weiss shouted as they walked in.

Blake returned fire just as vehemently. "There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate Humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like you, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"

"Enough!" Jäger shouted, unconsciously slipping into the identical persona all Recon instructors seemed to have when someone had fucked up. "Both of you will sit down and shut the hell up," he continued. "I will be back in a second." With that, he disappeared into the back of the warehouse, leaving team RWBY on their own.

Ruby quickly removed a canvas wrapped bundle from above Crimson Rose and set it on the table next to her, while Blake and Weiss pointedly looked any direction except at the other.

Jäger returned rolling a large wing-tipped armchair. He set in halfway between the pair, but facing them, and sat.

"Now, I am tired of hearing this. So, Weiss you will have 30 seconds to explain your condemnation of the White Fang to me, during which Blake will be TOTALLY silent. After which Blake," he turned and looked at her, "will likewise have 30 seconds to explain her defense. The stipulations apply to both of you." He looked at Weiss. "Begin."

Weiss drew a breath and started talking. "I distrust Faunus for one particular reason. Those that commit crimes invariably gravitate towards the White Fang, an exclusively Faunus group. Those terrorists," she spat vehemently, "are the definition of evil, and have been at war with my family for years. War, as in actual bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear; board members executed; an entire train car full of Dust, stolen. And every day, my father would come home, furious. And that made for a very difficult childhood." The others went to speak but Weiss cut them off. "No! You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!"

"Weiss, you're done," Jäger calmly instructed. "Blake, begin."

"Before the current leadership ousted their predecessors, the White Fang was a peaceful organization. Staging rallies, protests, boycotting certain shops that didn't serve Fauni, that sort of thing. But after the current leadership took charge, they started lashing out. Attacks began. Setting fire to shops that refused to serve us, hijacking cargo from companies that used Faunus labor. And it was working. Fauni were finally being treated as equals. They are not completely evil, as there is no such thing as pure evil, they simply want equality, and are misguided as to how to get that."

"Stop. Time's up. So, I am going to lay out who is wrong and who is right here in a second," Jäger said. His head swiveled to look at Blake. "But first, you are going to tell everyone why you defend the White Fang so strongly," he said as he leveled a piercing stare at the girl.

Blake's head snapped up so fast that her neck popped. "How did you…" she asked, eyes wide and fearful. She made to stand, but Jäger raised his Scroll and pressed a button on the screen. The door behind them locked with an audible *thunk*.

"That was me locking the door. It is now sealed using an incredibly strong magnet. It would be easier to cut your way through the walls, which would still take over 3 hours, than to try and break that door down." He stood, feet sliding apart and hands stiffening and interlocking behind his back unconsciously. "You might be good, but it was my job to hide. I'm simply better. So I am giving you one chance to come clean, or I will do it for you."

Blake sighed, reached up, and untied her bow. The piece of fabric fell away, revealing two twitching cat ears. Weiss and Ruby gasped, while Yang cooed.

"They're so cute," she exclaimed, stepping up and rubbing at them.

"Bow didn't match the rest of the outfit, irises are nonstandard human coloration, pupils are more slit than ovular or circular, bow would move whether or not there was wind, you have a liking for fish and a tendency to avoid catnip," Jäger stated, counting each point on his fingers. "But enough of that. Blake is a Faunus, which is one reason why she supported the White Fang. I'm assuming you were a member before this 'leadership change'." He looked at Weiss. "Remain silent." He looked back to Blake. "Your continued refusal to condemn the White Fang is a detriment and a threat. There is such a thing as pure evil, believe me, I have seen it. The White Fang, does act to achieve its goal by fear and do they harm innocents?" Upon receiving her nod, eyes downcast Jäger continued. "Then they are a terrorist organization and ought to be treated as such." He swiveled to face Weiss, who was looking triumphant. "Your refusal to give second chances is also a detriment and a threat, as some of the staunchest allies are reformed enemies. By painting them all with the same brush, you group all of their guilt together, rather than distributing it as it ought to be." He looked at the four. "I spent the majority of my adult life fighting terrorists across the world. I have no sympathy for them. If you are a terrorist and you want to survive if I am engaging, your best bet is to put down your weapons and lay face down on the ground." He turned to Weiss. "But that does not mean your discrimination is merited. It is impossible that all Faunus who commit crimes join the White Fang. Your partner being an example," he said poignantly. The door unlocked. "Have fun." And he disappeared again into the back. "I guess that's our cue to leave," Yang said.

—Line Break—

That Night

Blake stood before the statue at the entrance of Beacon, gazing upon the images of the Hunters and Huntresses standing atop the Beowolves. She felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. While she did not appreciate Jäger simply revealing her secret to everyone, she couldn't help but be grateful. So lost was she in her thoughts that she jumped upon hearing a voice behind her.

"I knew you'd look better without the bow."

She whirled around and found the monkey Faunus from the docks hanging off the lamppost above her by his tail.

—Line Break—

Two Days Later

When Blake returned, the monkey Faunus was with her. She was obviously agitated as she stormed into the team's dorm room.

"You need to listen to this," she began without preamble. "Someone call Jäger and put him on speaker. Now."

Ruby pulled out her scroll, quickly hitting the necessary buttons to call their tormentor and trainer.

He answered on the second ring.

"Jäger."

"Jäger shut up and listen. Sun and I were talking earlier…"

—Line Break—

Flashback

Blake and Sun walked into one of the alleys connecting many of Vale's streets.

"So, what's the plan now?" Sun asked.

"I still don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies. They've never needed that much Dust before," Blake replied.

Sun's eyes widened comically. "What if they did?" He began pacing back and forth in front of Blake. "I mean... the only way to prove that they didn't do it, is to go to the place where they would most _likely_ go to if they _were_ to do it, and not find them there! Right?"

Surprisingly, Blake managed to follow this non sequitur. "The only thing is, I've no idea where that would be."

"Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge shipment of "Dust coming in from Atlas," Sun revealed.

"How huge?" Blake's voice was urgent.

"Huge. Big Schnee Company freighter."

—Line Break—

End Flashback

Jäger listened patiently. "Kit up," he ordered once Blake had finished. "I have a few pieces to gather, and I'll be ready. Meet me at my place in 20 minutes." He hung up with a click.

—Line Break—

20 Minutes Later

Team RWBY and Sun walked into Jäger's warehouse slash house just after sunset. He was waiting for them, wearing his standard black tactical pants and a dark grey shirt. His pistol was on his side and he held an overly large rifle bag in one hand, with some type of veil draped over it.

"Good," he grunted. "You're on time. Let's go."

He explained the plan as they made their way to the docks. "This is a recon mission only. Our objective is to determine if it is the White Fang behind the robberies, and, if possible, what they need the Dust for. Ruby, you will be on the rooftop overlooking the containers. Your job is to cover everyone if fighting breaks out. In that event, Blake, Sun, Yang and Weiss will engage. I'll be a mile away on another rooftop, also providing cover."

"How will you be able to do that from a mile away?" Weiss asked incredulously.

Jäger sighed, stood the case on its wide end, and unzipped it. "This is a Remington MSR, chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum. With it, I am accurate out to a mile and a quarter, and within a two-inch box. I have other, similar systems, but this one is the best for this situation. With my best one, I can hit a target over two miles away." He zipped the case back up and slung it over his shoulder. "Let's go."

—Line Break—

At the Docks

The teens quickly took their positions, laying on the cold roof. Sun disappeared for several minutes, returning with an armload of fruit.

"Did I miss anything?"

"Not really," Blake said. "They've offloaded the crates from the boat. Now they're just sitting there."

"Cool." Sun put the apples on the roof. " If you guys are hungry, I stole some food!"

Weiss huffed, but took an apple anyway. Ruby and Yang took one each without a second thought.

"Do you always break the law without giving a second thought?" Blake questioned.

Sun responded, more than a little defensive. "Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?"

The look Blake gave him stopped him cold.

"Okay, too soon!"

"Where's Jäger," Ruby asked. As if responding, a red dot appeared on one of the crates. The teens quickly turned around, following the line back to the roof of a building a mile away.

"How did he…" Yang had no words.

Before anyone could answer, a Bullhead flew over the docks, landing among the shipping containers. Several people wearing Grim styled masks and bearing weapons came out of the craft.

—Line Break—

With Jäger

With lethal deliberateness, Jäger centered his reticle on the forehead of the White Fang member standing at the cargo door of the Bullhead. Another, a human, wearing a white trench coat and carrying a cane, joined the Faunus. Content to observe, Jäger missed Blake jumping off the roof to hide in the shadows. He was unable, however, to miss her appearing behind the human, placing sword to his throat, before she removed her bow.

"Fuck," was all he said, quickly calling the Blake and the others on his scroll before reacquiring the human.

—Line Break—

On the Docks

"Brothers of the White Fang, why are aiding for this scum?"

Torchwick laughed. "You didn't get the memo? The White Fang and I are in on a joint business venture."

Before Blake could respond, her scroll rang. She answered it, before thrusting it into Torchwick's hand as two other Bullheads flew overhead. "It's for you, Torchwick."

—Line Break—

With Jäger

"Yes? And who might this be?" came the voice over his scroll.

"Who I am is irrelevant. You will order your men to stand down immediately and no one will die tonight."

Torchwick laughed. "That's funny kid. Listen, come out and let me see you, and maybe, just maybe, I'll agree."

Jäger moved his reticle off Torchwick and centered it on the back of one of the White Fang soldier's heads. Stilling his breath for mere moments, his finger gently pressed backwards. He had already taken up the slack on the 3.5-pound trigger, and it broke with barely any force at all. The .338 Lapua Magnum exited the barrel, moving at 2650 feet per second. Two seconds later, it slammed into the lower cranium of the White Fang, with 4250-foot pounds of force. The 300 grain boat tailed hollow point ripped through the terrorist's cerebellum, severed the medulla oblongata, and tore through the nasal cavity of the target, eventually exiting out his mouth in a delicate spray of pink mist. The fighter dropped like a puppet with his strings cut, lying in a growing pool of his own blood.

Jäger's voice was like ice. "Have I sufficiently demonstrated my resolve, Mr. Torchwick?" Through his scope, he saw Torchwick's jaw hanging open in horror. Before he could react, however, Torchwick had fired the Dust round in his cane, shrouding the area in smoke from the explosion. Jäger growled in annoyance as his view as obscured and folded up his bipod, before moving onto the roof. Once up there he input a specific code into his scroll and waited until the locker impacted next to him, opening to reveal a Barrett XM109.

—Line Break—

Docks

Team RWBY took that as their cue to engage. Still able to see, Ruby unfolded Crimson Rose and began firing, while the others leapt down and began engaging the White Fang around them. Sun was particularly brutal, dispatching his attackers using his Bo staff and combination shotgun nun chucks. Within a few minutes, most of the White Fang soldiers had been defeated, leaving only Torchwick still standing.

He was being engaged by Blake and Sun at the same time, and was struggling to hold off the two Fauni. Suddenly, three more Bullheads flew in from over the water, and opened fire on the students with their chin mounted miniguns. One of them circled around to land, while the other two quickly loaded a container of Dust and went to take off.

A deafening crack split the night, followed by a massive explosion. One of the Bullheads crashed back to earth, a hole the size of a small car in its wing. One of the engines had fallen off, causing the craft to yaw to the side before falling back to earth. Another crack was heard and the same thing happened to the other Bullhead. The remaining aircraft quickly flew off, but before they got out of range, a third, and final, shot was heard, with the round crashing through the cockpit of the craft and killing the copilot. Despite the damage done, the craft still managed to limp away, hovering over the surface of the water.

—Line Break—

One Hour Later

Jäger stood, arms crossed and both rifles slung over his back while one of the detectives from the other day screamed in his face.

"How dare you not call the police! You hunters aren't lawmen, it isn't your right! And where did you get those weapons? They look military grade, which would mean they are stolen or illegal and I would have to confiscate them from you."

Jäger didn't bother uncrossing his arms. "There was no time to call you. I eliminated a threat to life and property in such a manner that they will never be threatening either ever again. The weapons are mine, and I'd like to see," here he looked the detective up and down, "you try and take them from me."

The cop scrambled backwards, putting his hand on his gun. "Are you threatening me," he demanded, his voice high in fear.

"No," was Jäger's simple reply. "I'm making you a promise. Don't come after my guns. You will not have a fun time."

With that, he simply walked away, melting into the shadows of the dock.

 **A/N: And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is season one. I'll be working on season two soon, but Greek week starts tomorrow night, so, well, I doubt I'll be able to write anything good. Also, longest chapter to date. I've covered most things of importance, but I'll close with a Viking funeral prayer for the victims of Brussels.**

 _ **Lo, there do I see my Father.**_

 _ **Lo, there do I see my Mother,**_

 _ **And my Brothers and my Sisters.**_

 _ **Lo, there do I see the line of my People,**_

 _ **Back to the Beginning.**_

 _ **Lo, they do call to me,**_

 _ **They bid me take my place among them,**_

 _ **In the halls of Valhalla,**_

 _ **Where thine enemies have been Vanquished,**_

 _ **Where the brave shall live Forever.**_

 _ **Nor shall we mourn but rejoice**_

 _ **For those that have died the Glorious Death**_


	12. Chapter 10

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

 **A/N: Yes, I know I am a piece of shit for not updating for over a month. I could make excuses, but instead, I'll just give y'all the list of what caused me to stop writing in order of appearance. Relationship issues, pneumonia followed by Upper Respiratory Infection, make up tests, and exams, with a nice dose of writer's block thrown in for good measure. But enough of my moaning. Without further ado, the next chapter.**

Beacon

Second Semester

Jäger sat in the cafeteria, largely ignoring the chattering going on around him. That was true, at least, until he heard Nora cackling over the crowd. "I'm Queen of the castle, I'm Queen of the castle," she sang.

"Justice will be swift; justice will be painful! It will be delicious!" Ruby cried out from the opposite end of the hall, joined by the yells of her teammates.

From her position atop the pile of tables, Nora cackled. "Off with their heads," she cried, leaping down to the floor.

Jäger remained in his seat, seeing no reason to interfere. And, as long as his coffee was not interfered with, he would not. The teens broke into a food fight of massive proportions, aided by their semblances. Even after Weiss was blown backwards with enough force to destroy one of the pillars and Yang blown through the ceiling, he did not react. Only when Pyrrha activated her semblance, throwing an apparently endless chain of soda cans did he act.

The team members who were there, as Yang had yet to return from her flight, turned upon hearing an echoing crack from the corner. Jäger's pistol was slightly smoking, aimed above his head at the ceiling.

"Pyrrha, let me give you a piece of advice," he said. "Never mess with a Marine's coffee if you want to live."

Before any of them could react, Goodwitch stormed in, riding crop swishing. Before their eyes the entire hall reassembled itself, with the last table rolling end over end to thump into place.

"Children," she ground out. "Please do not play with your food."

The group of teens all began laughing, chattering happily, Yang included, after she fell through the roof. Jäger sat in his seat, still calmly sipping his coffee, pistol out of sight.

Ozpin appeared behind Goodwitch, laying his hand on her shoulder. "Let it go," was all he simply said.

Goodwitch sighed. "They're supposed to be the defenders of the world."

"And they will be," was Ozpin's reply. "But right now they're still children. Why not let them play the part?" He turned back towards the doorway. "After all, it's not a role they will have forever."

—Line Break—

Next Day

Beacon Library

Jäger was walking through the library, after returning dome of the more obscure books on Aura and semblance when he came across teams RWBY and JNPR and Sun with a blue haired guy he hadn't met before.

"Sup losers," was Sun's opener.

"Hey Sun," Ruby chirped.

"Ruby, Yang, Blake, Ice Queen," Sun started.

"Why does everyone keep calling me that," Weiss broke in.

Sun continued unabated. "I never got a chance to formally introduce you to my old friend."

Said old friend spoke. "Uhh, aren't libraries for reading?"

"Thank you!" Ren exclaimed from the other table.

Sun's response spoke of an old argument. "Shut up. Don't be a nerd."

"Geh, geh geh. Intellectual, okay? Thank you."

Having head nothing to pique his curiosity, Jäger moved off, hearing the voice float over his shoulder, "I'm Neptune."

—Line Break—

Later that Evening

Jäger was returning from his evening workout through the hallway that separated the rooms of Teams RWBY and JNPR. As he passed their rooms, he heard Yang's voice followed by Blake's.

"Ozpin told us not to worry. Between the police and the Huntsmen, I'm sure they can handle it," came Yang's voice.

"Well I'm not! They don't know the White Fang like I do!" Blake was obviously passionate about what she saw as an existential threat.

Jäger knocked on the door and heard the room go silent. It cracked open, with the four heads appearing in the doorjamb.

Jäger started without any preamble. "One, you might want to keep your voices down. Two, leave things to the professionals. You might be able to take on standard criminals, but if you try to go against someone like Torchwick, Taurus or another one of the rogue Hunters, you will not have a good time of it."

As he had been speaking, Blake had paled dramatically. "How do you know about Adam?"

"Oh is that Taurus' first name? Good, I'll add it to his dossier. As for how I know about him, I spent some time last semester compiling a list of major threats to Vale and Beacon. He's at the top of my kill list, seeing as he serves as one of the major heads of the White Fang, and should he be removed, the organization will go through a period of infighting, during which they will be rather vulnerable."

Blake looked aghast, struck completely speechless by how casually Jäger mentioned killing another person.

"Anyway," his eyes sharpened to flint, "leave this to the professionals. We know what we are doing, and if you do not there will be avoidable casualties." He gave a half bow. "Have a good night."

The door shut and Jäger stepped back. He turned, as if to walk down the hallway to his quarters but stopped. "You know," he called over his shoulder, "people sneaking about in the shadows generally have something to hide, or something illegal they are planning. Sometimes both. And I don't take kindly to either option." He turned around, facing the three shadowy figures. "Come into the light."

The three stepped forward, a guy with silver hair, a girl with emerald hair and red eyes, and a stunning ravenette.

The ravenette spoke. "You have a very interesting way of thinking about things, Mr…" The question was evident in her voice, as she held out her hand.

Jäger took it. "Mattis. James Mattis. And you are?"

"Cinder Fall. The other two are Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black."

Jäger grunted. "Good to know. Now, your quarters are 250 meters east of here, in the guest dormitories. I would advise you make your way over there. We do not take very kindly to anyone skulking about in the dark, be it a student or a visitor."

With that Jäger melted into the shadows, making his way back to his room, while simultaneously keeping an eye on the tracker he had covertly slipped onto Cinder's jacket sleeve when they shook hands. She, at least, went to the building he had directed them towards, settling down.

As he fell asleep Jäger vowed to keep an eye on those three.

—Line Break—

Next Day

Team RWBY's Room

"Alright, guys, today's the day! The investigation begins!" Ruby exclaimed as she leapt off her bed.

"I'm glad to see we're taking this so seriously," Weiss snarked from the bottom bunk.

"Hey, we've got a plan! That's... moderately serious," Yang protested.

"Right! Everyone remember their roles?" Ruby questioned.

"You and I will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem," Weiss confirmed.

"The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning," Blake stated.

"I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows _everything_ going on in Vale. Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard..." Yang said.

"Great! We'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we found. Let's do this!" Ruby cried, pumping her fist.

Sun's voice came from the window. "Yeah!" The entire team turned to see him hanging from the windowsill by his tail.

"Sun!" Blake exclaimed.

"How did you get up there?" Yang questioned.

"Ah, it's easy; I do it all the time," was Sun's immediate reply.

"You do what?!" Weiss was understandably incensed.

"I climb trees all the time," Sun clarified. Without responding to Weiss' scowl, he flipped into the room. "So, are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?"

"We," Blake emphasized, "are going to investigate the situation... as a team."

"Sorry, Sun," Ruby apologized. "We don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to."

"Psh! That's dumb! We should always get friends involved! That's why I brought Neptune!" Sun said, gesturing out the window.

"'Sup?"

"How did you even get up here?" Ruby asked incredulously.

"I have my ways," Neptune said earnestly. "Seriously, though, can I come in? We're like, really high up right now," Neptune said nervously.

"Alright, I'll go with Weiss; Sun, you can go with Blake. And Neptune, you can go with Yang since she doesn't have a partner. Everyone good?"

"Actually, Ruby, why don't you go with Yang? After all, she is your sister," Weiss suggested.

"But, Weiss, who would go with you, then?" Ruby questioned.

"Well... I guess Neptune could come with me," Weiss said hopefully.

Ruby laughed. "Nah," she said, and pulled a protesting Weiss out of the door, only to slam into Jäger's chest.

"I thought I told you to leave this to the professionals," he rumbled. "Is there any chance that you would do as I say?"

Blake responded with characteristic bluntness. "No. This is something we feel we must do."

Jäger sighed. "I expected as much." He reached to the side and pulled a backpack on. "You will need support. Seeing as Blake and Sun will be in the most danger, I'll go with them."

—Line Break—

Later That Night

Vale Docks

"I'm in position." Jäger's voice filtered over Blake and Sun's scrolls. "I have limited vision through the windows, so pay attention to your scrolls. If they vibrate, I no longer have eyes on you."

"Understood," was Blake's terse reply. "We're heading in."

The two Faunus walked to the right as directed; slipping on the masks that they had.

"You always bring me to the nicest places," Sun muttered as he walked in behind her.

"Thank you all for coming. For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours! I can assure you, he is the key to obtaining what we have fought for so long!" As the lieutenant finished his introduction, Torchwick stepped onto the stage, followed by a girl in a white coat with pink hair.

—Line Break—

Outside

Jäger's breathing paused as he saw Torchwick walk onto the stage through his scope. He considered ending him for a moment, before releasing the trigger so as to not blow Blake and Sun's cover.

—Line Break—

Inside

"Thank you, thank you! Please, hold your applause!" Torchwick said with his customary sarcasm.

A female Faunus with antlers pointed at Torchwick. "What's a human doing here?!"

"I'm glad you asked, Deerie! Now, I'll be the first to admit, humans... are the worst," Torchwick said as he saluted. "Case in point. So, I understand why you would like to see us all locked away, or, better yet, killed!"

"Where is he going with this," Sun muttered.

"But, before the claws come out, I'd like to mention the fact that you and I all have a common enemy: the ones in control, the people pulling the strings, the dirty, rotten humans that run our kingdoms!" The crowd around the two Hunters in training began nodding along with Roman, agreeing with him. "Government, military, even the schools: they're all to blame for your lot in life!" Roman let the cheers wash over him before continuing. "And they're all pests that need to be dealt with! Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around... No offense to any rodents in the room."

He snapped his fingers, and the curtain behind him fell, revealing a large mech with the symbol of the White Fang emblazoned on its shoulder.

"Whoa, that's a big robot..." Sun said in awe.

Blake was more worried. "How did he get that?"

"As some of you might have heard, this right here..." he tapped the mech, "...is Atlas' newest defense against all the scary things in the world. And thanks to my "employer", we've managed to snag a few before they, uh, "hit the shelves". Now, many of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation in the southeast. If you'd rather stay within the city, that's fine... But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, this is the arsenal I can provide you. Any questions?" The crowd roared in approval.

"We need to get out of here," was all Blake said to Sun.

Before they could begin to move though, the Lieutenant who had introduced Torchwick yelled out over the crowd. "Will all new recruits, please come forward!"

The line surged forward forcing the two to follow. "Welp! This is a problem," was all Sun said.

—Line Break—

Outside

Jäger was cursing a storm outside on the roof. Pulling out his scroll, he typed in a code, calling one of his lockers to his position. Then, he called Blake and Sun.

He began without any preamble. "Get out of there now."

"Too late, we're blown," was Blake's reply.

Jäger's mind was analyzing and discarding plans as fast as he could. "Blake, shoot out the window behind you, and then run. I'm going to cause a little chaos." He shouldered his MSR, sighting the scope on the lieutenant on the stage. Time slowed to a crawl. Through his scope, he saw the window shatter and, stilling for the moment between heartbeats, his finger moved smoothly backwards. The trigger broke, and the bullet crossed the distance in an instant, slamming into the pelvis of the White Fang lieutenant standing on the stage. He went down with a scream as Torchwick climbed into the Paladin, while Jäger's locker slammed into the roof next to him, opening to reveal his SMAW, which he quickly knelt and shouldered.

—Line Break—

Inside (Before Jäger takes his shot)

Blake was silently panicking. They were surrounded by people who would kill her for being a traitor, and Sun hadn't known exactly how much danger he was getting into. She calmed slightly when she heard Jäger's voice explaining the plan, which she added an additional part to. Turning, she fired Gambol Shroud, breaking the window as Jäger had ordered. Without waiting to see what else he did, she turned to her left and fired a second shot into the breaker box for the warehouse, plunging the building into darkness.

"Sun, the window," she shouted.

In an explosion of glass, she and Sun burst through the window onto the dock, rolling to their feet. 300 meters away, she saw Jäger's figure kneeling on the rooftop, illuminated by the flash from what appeared to be a large tube. Behind them, the Paladin burst through the wall, only to be met with an 83mm High Explosive Anti-Armor round from the SMAW. The round smashed onto the lower torso of the much and detonated, throwing the robot onto its back. Jäger immediately lowered the SMAW, throwing it into the locker and hitting the code to send it back to Beacon. Then, he sprinted to the side of the building, and slid off the roof, landing next to his motorcycle. Between semesters, he had gone and bought a bike that reminded him of the Kawasaki dirt bike that he and Chaos team had used in Afghanistan and other places. With the rifle slung across his back, Jäger quickly slipped his helmet on, the painted grinning skull coming down to cover his face. Revving the motor, he hurtled down the alley, rounding the corner just as the Paladin burst through the wall. Hunching further down over the tank of the motorcycle, Jäger upshifted, sending more power down the driveshaft, quickly accelerating down the street. Staying parallel to Blake and Sun as they jumped along the rooftops, he managed to keep ahead of the Paladin by making a quick turn and taking a street closer to where Blake and Sun were sprinting. As the mech chased them from the industrial district and into the suburbs, Jäger grew more concerned. Collateral damage was something that led him to extract a heavy price upon the attacker.

Taking a risk, he veered right, hoping that the mech would continue to follow Sun and Blake. It did. The mech continued chasing the two Faunus, while Jäger slowed and then got back into line behind it, now pursuing the mech. It was no surprise when Yang and Neptune pulled out ahead of him on Bumblebee, as he had heard Blake and Sun's disjointed distress call. Following Blake and Sun, the mech leapt onto the freeway, scattering cars left and right. Jäger accelerated, dodging flying cars behind Yang and Neptune. Neptune stood from the back of Bumblebee, firing his rifle into the back of the Paladin, before transforming it into a guandao and leaping to stab into the rear armor of the mech. Sun, trying to help his friend, extended his bo and leapt as well, only to be slammed out of the air by Neptune as he was thrown from his perch. About a quarter mile ahead of him, Weiss plunged Myrtenaster into the freeway, covering the surface in a circular sheet of ice. The Paladin stepped onto the ice and lost its footing, sliding off the freeway to crash into the ground.

Rather than jump off the overpass to the ground like team RWBY did, Jäger drove his bike off the side and onto the lower section of the freeway. There, he shut off the bike and unslung his rifle, steadying it with the bipod on the side of the road. Centering the reticle on one of the mech's aiming pods, he fired, sending the round crashing through the laser designator, right as Yang slammed her fist into another sheet of ice. The resulting fog obscured his view, and he used the wait to call in one of his lockers. If he was right, Torchwick was going to flee by Bullhead again, and this time, he would be ready.

—Line Break—

With Team RWBY

With the Paladin momentarily blinded, team RWBY took a second to regroup. Plan ready, they began circling the mech. Torchwick managed to catch glimpses of the teens as they circled the mech, but he missed at first. Then, Torchwick preempted where Blake and Yang would be, firing between the two. Out of the explosion came Ruby's flying form, Crescent Rose slashing at the Paladin, causing it to falter.

Ruby landed on the ground and calmly racked her bolt. "Checkmate!" she said.

Blake and Weiss charged in this time, angling for the feet. Weiss jumped up and stabbed one of the sensors before leaping off of a white glyph. Torchwick growled and lifted the Paladin's foot in an attempt to crush Blake, but Weiss summons another glyph under her teammate to launch her backwards before the crushing blow can land. The two were then forced to flip backwards, avoiding missiles that had fired out of the Paladin's shoulder batteries. One of Weiss' jumps launched her two high, and she was hit by a double cannon shot from Torchwick. As she was thrown back, Weiss cast a glyph beneath Blake. The Faunus girl absorbed the power and sliced through each launched missile with ease in a flurry of super-fast slashes.

"Ladybug!" shouted Ruby, running into the fray.

She shot herself forward with Crescent Rose, cutting at the Paladin's legs, before turning as Blake aims herself at the giant's feet as well. The two dashed forward and attacked at the same time, circling each other around the Paladin with each strike. Together, they launched themselves into the air and came down together on the shoulder, cutting off the left arm entirely. Yang didn't waste a second, and jumped onto the Paladin's back, punching the top with fiery shotgun blasts. _

Jäger watched with impassive eyes as Yang was slammed bodily through two pillars and then punched through a third. Seeing Yang get up, surrounded by a faint, fiery nimbus of yellow light, he smirked. Sure enough, when the Paladin threw a punch, trying to finish her off, she met force with force and won, blowing the Paladin's remaining arm off. Torchwick immediately went on the defensive, swiftly kicking her away, and attempting to put some space between what remained of his mech and the four teens. Seizing the initiative, Ruby fired Crescent Rose through a glyph Weiss created. The rounds impacted the mech and quickly swelled into large chunks of ice, freezing it in place in time for Yang to swing around on Gambol Shroud's fetter. The combined force of her momentum and Semblance focused onto her fist, and annihilated what remained of the mech, sending Torchwick flying back. Rather than wait, Yang immediately fired one of her gauntlets, only for the round to be blocked by a pink haired girl in vaguely Victorian garb. After a moment, she gave a bow, evidently at Torchwick's direction. Seeing the distraction for what it was, Jäger quickly levered himself up from behind his scope and reached into the locker he had called in earlier. Directly next to his Carl Gustav sat a FIM-92 Stinger anti-aircraft launcher. Shouldering the launcher, he activated it and turned back to the scene below him, going onto one knee to stabilize himself against the back blast. At the same time he turned, Yang charged the taunting pair, slamming Ember Celica into the umbrella of the pink haired girl. With a sound of shattering glass, the image of her and Torchwick broke apart under Yang's fist, revealing a Bullhead rapidly fleeing. Hearing the sibilant lock-on tone screaming in his ear, Jäger paused, sighted, and fired. The five-foot long missile leapt from the tube, accelerated to a speed of nearly 1700 miles per hour, and slammed into the starboard engine of the bullhead with a massive explosion. The Bullhead stuttered in the air and started to fall, but the pilot managed to recover some semblance of control, and the VTOL limped off into the distance. Sighing in defeat, he returned the spent launcher to the locker and sent it back to Beacon. Swinging his leg over his motorcycle, he followed.


	13. Interlude: Dust and Aura

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

Interlude: Dust and Aura

Or, How Jäger can Kick Ass with Normal Weapons.

 **Dust:**

By definition, it is a naturally occurring energy propellant that can be triggered by the aura of Humans and Faunus. But in reality, it is much, much more.

Found in four basic forms, Dust can be combined both artificially and naturally to form new, stronger types, each with unique properties. Since its discovery, man has concocted a multitude of ways in which to harness these mysterious crystals.

From airships to androids, Dust has made its way into practically every facet of technology. Some prefer to use Dust in its raw form: elegant, yet destructive. Those who choose to wield Dust in this state must posses a certain level of discipline, to ensure that their resulting powers do not break free from their control.

Dust ammunition serves as a more practical application in today's modern society. With the technological advancements in weapon design, warriors need merely choose the right cartridge for the job and pull the trigger.

While this has become the standard method of use, it is not uncommon to find individuals still practicing more archaic forms of Dust manipulation, such as weaving it into clothing or even fusing it directly with their own bodies.

Despite working, fighting, and even turning a profit with it, humanity has still yet to understand how Dust came to be, and more importantly, how their involvement with Dust will ultimately change the world of Remnant.

 **Aura:**

Huntsmen are widely regarded as the world's greatest warriors. While skilled in a wide variety of weaponry and hand-to-hand combat, these champions are also masters of a much greater power: Aura.

Aura is a manifestation of the soul, a life force that runs through every living creature on Remnant, whether they are a meager shopkeep or a renowned knight. However, what sets true warriors apart from all others is their ability to amplify and control their Aura.

Aura is primarily used as a defensive mechanism. Passively coating the wielder in a protective force field, it can protect a combatant from what would normally be a fatal blow. It does not, however, make the user invincible. As they receive more and more damage, their Aura reserve will deplete. If this happens, all the fighter will be left with is his resolve. Fortunately, when a fight turns gruesome, a warrior can also rely on their Aura in a different manner.

"Semblance" is a term used to describe the projection of Aura into a more tangible form. For some this could be the ability to control objects with telekinesis. For others it could mean superhuman strength. The power associated with a wielder's Semblance is completely unique. With enough training and focus, a user's Aura can turn them into something much more than just a man.

 **How this Effects Jäger:**

Due to the fact that all modern weapons in Remnant use Dust as the propellant for all ammunition, one's Aura has a natural resistance to weapons of this sort, due to the fact that the Dust is activated by the user's Aura. Furthermore, as Aura "Passively [coats] the wielder in a protective force field," this resistance is permanent, short of someone having their Aura depleted in a fight. Thus, when Jäger uses his personal rounds, which consist of, for the most part, copper jacketed lead, the target does not have the natural resistance to both the round itself nor the propellant. While their Aura might be able to block some of the kinetic force of the round itself, it cannot stop the entirety of it. Additionally, in some cases, such as high-caliber rifles, this can have a detrimental effect on the target's survivability, as a slower round has more time to traverse the body, and thus, more time to inflict damage on the surrounding tissues. Additionally, because Dust is activated by one's Aura, the burn characteristics of Dust is subpar to that of modern Gunpowder, leading to a slower round overall that can be more easily dodged or blocked.

 **Conclusion:**

Aura gives all who have it a semi-invulnerability to Dust, due to the fact that the former is activated by Aura. When one's Aura reserves are depleted, this invulnerability is lost, leaving them susceptible to attacks and permanent damage to their bodies. Aura does not protect against weapons that do not have Dust in them, both bladed and firearms, meaning that Jäger's weapons are able to move through a person's Aura as if it wasn't there, since, for those particular weapons, it is not.


	14. Chapter 11

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

Beacon

Jäger sat in the stands overlooking the combat arena while Pyrrha proceeded to curb stomp Team CRDL. Using her natural agility, as well as Cardin's Soviet strategy of continual attack, she easily trounced the four, leaving them unconscious or groaning on the floor.

"And that's the match," said Goodwitch, as the lights came back on. "Well done, Miss Nikos. You should have no problem qualifying for the tournament."

"Thank you Professor," Pyrrha replied.

Goodwitch continued. "Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match." She looked around. "Any volunteers? Ms. Belladonna?" Blake slammed her book shut and stared Goodwitch. "You've been rather docile for the past few classes. Why don't you…"

One of the three who Jäger had found a few nights ago raised his hand. "I'll do it."

Goodwitch looked up. "Mercury, is it? Well, let's find you an opponent."

"Actually," Mercury started.

"There will be no need for that Ms. Goodwitch." Jäger stood smoothly. "I find myself needing to blow off some energy." He looked over at Mercury. "Let's go, squid."

Mercury looked like he wanted to argue, but held his tongue and stepped down into the arena. He was wearing a grey and black jacket, grey arm sleeves with black, fingerless gloves, black pants with a grey stripe down the seam and a pair of leather boots, which had what appeared to be some type of cartridges around the upper cuff. He had no visible weapons. Jäger, on the other hand, was dressed in tan combat boots, MARPAT Woodland pants, and an olive drab shirt. He had his knife on the side of his left thigh and his pistol on his right, with the axes Ruby had made for him crossed on his back with the handles jutting above his shoulders.

Jäger stood, looking supremely unconcerned with his arms held loosely in front of him. Mercury had raised his hand in the classic martial artist starting position, waiting for Goodwitch to start the match.

"Begin." As that one word passed through Jäger's consciousness, he went from relaxed to tense in the span of milliseconds, without it outwardly being apparent.

Mercury acted first, running forward and sending a roundhouse kick directly at Jäger's temple. Jäger's left hand flashed up in a heel strike to deflect the boot over his head as his right fist slammed into Mercury's groin.

His opponent dropped to the ground with a shriek, while Jäger stood over him.

"In our jobs, there are no winners and losers. There are the living and the dead. And if fighting dirty means I live, then you will never see me fight cleanly," he said.

Mercury slowly got to his feet. "That was a cheap shot," he growled.

"Are you not listening," Jäger asked. "There are no cheap shots. There are those who live, and those who don't. That is all that matters."

Mercury charged with a shout, sending a flurry of kicks at the Marine. With a minimum of movement, Jäger dodged each kick, before lashing out with a kick of his own into Mercury's knee. As his opponent stumbled backwards, Jäger spun away, drawing his axes and partially activating his semblance.

—Line Break—

Flashback

Beacon

One Week after Jäger's Semblance activated

Jäger found himself again in Ozpin's office, this time for a training session. If he was being honest, his semblance had scared him more than anything in recent memory. He held within him the ability to deal an incredible amount of damage, but unable to differentiate between ally and enemy, something entirely opposite from his normal skillset. Thus, he found himself in the Headmaster's office.

"Now, James, you are here because of your Semblance. I will admit, it is an extremely dangerous semblance, even more so than Ms. Nikos'."

Jäger looked up questioningly. "I am not currently aware of what her Semblance is."

"Magnetism," Ozpin said simply. "She can stop someone's blood flow with her will if she so desired."

Jäger blanched. "Or cause a brain clot, induce internal hemorrhaging, stop their heartbeat, and a host of other possibilities. Why have you not explained that to her? Even if it was unguided, simply a wave of force, she could easily kill someone by forcing all of their blood to drain from the sections of their body closest to the wave and into other areas, which would undoubtedly tear through internal organs."

Now it was Ozpin's turn to pale rapidly. "I had not considered that. While the other person's aura would dissipate some of the power, if the attack was sufficiently large…" He shook his head. "You have given me something to think on. In any case, we are here to discuss your Semblance and how you will go about controlling it. My advice to you is this: isolate yourself and try to activate a single part of the Semblance without falling into the rage. I believe you called it the Bersekrgang?"

Jäger nodded. "Then try to bring forward the stamina, or loss of pain, without falling into the rage," Ozpin continued. "And make sure you are isolated. I do not want a repeat of last week."

"I understand sir. Thank you."

—Line Break—

Flashback end

Instantly, a faint nimbus of deep blue and scarlet surrounded Jäger. As Mercury charged again, he moved, to Jäger's eyes, much slower than before. His leg came up in a sidekick, and he used his boots for the first time, sending a Dust round shooting at Jäger. Both the round and the booted foot were dodged, and it was here that Mercury made the mistake that would cost him the fight. Rather than withdraw his leg and attack again, he remained in the sidekick position and began partially withdrawing and kicking, trying to catch Jäger unprepared. In response, Jäger dropped to his knees and slammed the blades of both axes into opposite sides of Mercury's right knee. The blades, forced along by the strength of a Berserkr, sheared through the limb with the shriek of tearing metal, and Mercury fell with a scream, one leg amputated at the knee. It was then that Jäger noticed the sparks coming from the severed pant leg and, sheathing one of his axes, he picked it up, tearing the remaining material away. In his hand he held an advanced prosthetic, made of metal and Dust.

"Huh," Jäger muttered. "Not exactly what I was expecting," was all he said. The students in the stands were shocked at the sheer violence of what had just transpired. Strangely enough, Cinder appeared more displeased than anything, while Emerald looked more than a little gleeful. Jäger toed Mercury's leg. "You can stop rolling around in pain now, seeing as we know you have prosthetics."

Mercury lay still, but glared up at Jäger with hate filled eyes. "I am going to kill you, slowly and very painfully," he ground out through clenched teeth.

Jäger laughed, but it was a laugh without any humor. "Many men have tried, and you wanna know what the funny thing is? I'm still here, while they are food for the worms." With that parting shot he walked away, unaware of the eyes that followed him with more than cursory interest.

—Line Break—

Teams RWBY and JNPR sat in the stands in silence as chaos reigned around them. A pair of medics ran in, rolled Mercury onto a stretcher, and proceeded to carry him out of the room. Ruby and Jaune looked as if they might throw up, while Ren, Pyrrha and Blake were impassive. No one could tell what Nora thought. Weiss and Yang were both watching Jäger as he walked out intently, although for very different reasons. Eventually, Ruby stood up.

"C'mon," she muttered. "I…we need to talk."

Both teams converged on RWBY's dorm room. Jaune started immediately.

"I told you all he was dangerous." His voice rose. "He just cut some guys leg off! It doesn't matter if it was artificial or not, what if he had been wrong?"

Yang piped up. "As much as I dislike agreeing with vomit boy," she ignored Jaune's aggrieved 'hey', "I have to. Jäger is the definition of a loose cannon." Weiss snorted. "I know, ironic coming from me, but true nonetheless. He kills without conscience and, as we just saw, has no qualms about severely injuring people during training fights of all things."

—Line Break—

Ozpin's Office

Same Time

"Those three are dangerous."

Ozpin quirked an eyebrow. "How so," he asked, as Jäger paced across his office.

"Cinder is too well developed to only be 18 to 22, I'd estimate her to be around 26…"

"So are you," Ozpin cut in.

Jäger shook his head. "We both know that I am a special case. And besides, it is harder to accurately guess age with men. I can pass as anywhere from a 20-year-old to a 33-year-old if necessary. She doesn't even try." He shook his head. "Continuing, Emerald doesn't strike me as the type to go to a combat school, neither does Mercury. I've long thought that the White Fang is far too organized for a terrorist organization, someone has been guiding them form the shadows. The only question is, which one is it?" They both lapsed into silence.

—Line Break—

RWBY's Dorm

Pyrrha spoke up, almost hesitantly. "If Jäger is so dangerous, what are we supposed to do? Bear in mind, I am not completely convinced that he is as large a threat as you all make him out to be. He is cruel, has questionable morals, and a distinct lack of empathy at times, but I don't think that explicitly makes him a danger to us."

Ren broke his silence. "He is a Warrior. Not a Hunter, but a Warrior. For those he chooses to protect, no price is too high to be paid if it means they are safe. I've seen men like him before, men old before their time from what they have seen and done. They do terrible, sometimes evil things, so that the people they care about never have too." He stood and faced the window. "Jäger isn't a danger to us. In fact, if I had to guess, he would willingly die to save one of us. That's just what they do."

 **A/N: Hey guys. Yes, it has been a while. If I am being honest, I completely lost interest in writing this for a while. However, with Volume 4 dropping in 2 days, I decided now was as good a time as ever to pick it back up. If anyone has any suggestions for the story going forward, I would be more than willing to hear them, seeing as I have only the bare basics of how things are going to progress right now.**

 **Alpah out**


	15. Chapter 12

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

Beacon

Team RWBY's Dorm

Chaos exploded as Ren finished his statement. Yang was heard above all the others.

"I don't care what he is, Hunter, Warrior, whatever. He. Is. A. Danger." Yang shuddered, surprising everyone there.

—Line Break—

Flashback

Training Field, Immediately after Jäger had his Aura Unlocked

Yang felt Nora crash into her side with incredible force, bowling her off her feet and sending the air from her lungs in a huff. As she dazedly went to rise from the ground, she felt a hand grab a hank of her hair, dragging her head up from the ground. A cold sweat broke out as a razor sharp knife was placed against her throat, drawing a thin line of blood. Then, Ozpin was there, driving back the one that had attacked her, and she could breathe again.

—Line Break—

Yang returned to the present with a second shudder and rapid shaking of her head, banishing the memories. "He would have killed me if not for the Headmaster. Whether it was his Semblance or not is irrelevant. He is a danger to the entire school."

—Line Break—

Beacon

Evening of the Dance

Yang looked up from the hostess stand as footsteps rang out in front of her. Polished black dress shoes, midnight blue dress slacks with gold and red stripes up each side, a scarlet cummerbund and white tuxedo shirt with a blue dress jacket and high collar encased the Hunter before her, topped off with a white peaked cap with a black brim and silver and gold Eagle, Globe and Anchor insignia. Despite her distrust for Jäger, Yang couldn't help but be impressed.

"Well," she drawled. "You certainly clean up nicely." Not content to leave it at that, she continued. "When you're not a sadistic asshole or murdering psychopath that is. Not very high bars to say the least."

The Marine simply smirked. "I have been called worse. Enjoy your evening." And with that, he stepped past her stand and out onto the floor.

—Line Break—

POV Switch

Jäger moved smoothly out onto the dance floor. Finding an empty table, he removed his cover and placed it in front of the rear seat. Then, with a subtle sleight of hand, he reached under the table cloth and secured a high powered magnet to the underside of the table. After a quick glance around, he hit the release on the sling of his Sig Sauer MPX, removed it from its place under the back of his jacket, and secured it to the magnet. Confident in his hiding place, he rose and started towards the punch bowl. As he did, he heard Ozpin and Ruby speaking. Arriving behind them in time to hear Ozpin saying, "well, you can't spend your whole life on the battlefield even if you may want to," Jäger couldn't help but add in his own two cents.

"Otherwise, Ms. Rose, you might end up like me. Perpetually paranoid, searching for the next attack, real or imagined, and unable to interact with others normally do to what you have seen. Let me assure you now, it is not a pleasant way to live one's life." He said this lightly, almost jokingly, but with a tinge of sadness, haunted by what could have been. Then he shook his head, and the hardened soldier returned with a vengeance. He gave a slight bow. "Enjoy your evening Ms. Rose. Headmaster, if I may speak with you for a moment?" Ozpin nodded his assent, and the two moved off slightly.

"What is bothering you James?"

"I can't shake the feeling that something is going to happen tonight. It's the perfect opportunity." He turned and faced the crowd. "Everyone is gathered here, and while the General's troops are well trained, I could go through them without the slightest amount of difficulty." Ozpin opened his mouth to defend his friend but Jäger cut him off. "Before my aura was unlocked." Ozpin mouth closed with a snap. "Now imagined what a well-trained hunter with full aura and semblance could do? Not pretty in the slightest."

"What do you plan to do then?"

Jäger glanced sideways at the Headmaster. "Of course you would have known. I'll be bouncing in and out, making sure everywhere remains secure. If I had to pick a target to hit tonight, it'd be the CCT." His eyes roved the dance floor. "Mercury and Emerald are here, but their other piece is not." His face hardened. "Looks like we found the guiding hand. Unfortunately, we can't take her in yet, as we don't know the plan. Observation and negation." He flashed a wolfish grin. "My specialty." He turned to Ozpin. "If you will excuse me."

Ozpin nodded. "Of course. But Jäger?" The Marine turned. "Keep her alive if you can. Injured, but alive." Ozpin's eyes sharpened to flint. "I want her running scared. I want her to regret ever coming to Beacon." The response was a curt nod.

Moving with a purpose now, Jäger made his way across the dance floor. As he approached his table, however, he felt a small hand on his arm, stopping him. Behind him stood Pyrrha, wearing her circlet and a scarlet sleeveless dress. Seeing she had his attention, Pyrrha spoke.

"Jäger. I was wondering if you would be willing to dance?"

His response was a raised eyebrow. "Why me? Your team leader has made his opinion of me quite clear, why not ask him?" The girl wilted before him. "Ahh. He is unable to find the courage to ask you, so you are using me as a way to irritate him such that he will dance with you to get you away from me." Pyrrha froze like a deer in headlights, unable to respond given that he had seen through her so quickly. "In that case, how could I refuse." Taking her hand, he led the Spartan onto the floor. With surprising grace, he began a Viennese Waltz, with Pyrrha following his lead seamlessly.

"Why did you agree," she asked.

Jäger smirked, but it was humorless. "Believe it or not, many years ago, I was like Jaune. Lacking in confidence, unsure how to act around women, particularly those I found attractive, not the greatest fighter, the list goes on. Then, after college, I joined the Marines. They made me what I am today, and for that I cannot help but feel grateful. Are there things I would change? Of course, everyone had their regrets. But overall, even despite my issues, I will always owe those men my loyalty." He looked down. "Has he noticed yet?"

"He has, but he is just glaring a hole in your back from the punch bowl."

Jäger sighed. "Time to kick it up a notch then." With that said, he drew Pyrrha close, and she, understanding what he was doing, rested her head against his chest.

"I've been meaning to ask you something," she said. Taking his silence as permission to continue, she gathered her courage. "After the…incident…with Mercury we had a discussion with RWBY. Ren said something I found interesting. He said you aren't a Hunter, but a Warrior. That you do terrible things so that the people you protect don't have to. And that you would willingly die to save anyone one of us, because it is simply what you do." Jäger went stiff for a moment and she heard his heart beat faster. Then he continued moving as if nothing had happened.

"Ren is incredibly wise for someone so young," was all he said. He went to say more, but a hand dropped onto his shoulder. Turning, he found Jaune.

"If you don't mind, I'd like a dance with my partner," he said curtly.

Releasing Pyrrha, Jäger stepped back and smoothly bowed. "Milady, it was a pleasure." He turned to Jaune. "She's all yours."

—Line Break—

POV Switch

Pyrrha watched Jäger's retreating back from Jaune's arms. "Ren was right you know," she said breaking the silence. Jaune stiffened and she looked into his eyes. "Jäger is dangerous, yes. You will never hear me deny that. He just isn't a danger to us."

Jaune sighed. "I know that's what you think Pyrrha, but I just can't believe that someone with the skills he has would shackle himself to us. He has to have another motive."

—Line Break—

POV Switch

Jäger returned to his table and swiftly reattached his MPX to his back. Donning his cover, he made his way to the entrance to the dance hall, only to find that Ruby had beaten him there. As he walked up, a figure in black made its way over the rooftops towards the CCT. He sighed.

"Well, it would seem I was right," he said as he made his way down the stairs to his motorcycle. He looked back at Ruby as he swung his leg over the bike. "Are you coming?"

Ruby shook her head and dashed to the bike. "Why didn't you leave me behind?"

"You would have made your way there anyway Better that I help you and give you some backup than let you go into a potentially lethal situation on your own. Now hold this," he handed her his cover, "and hang on." With that, he revved the engine on the motorcycle and headed towards the CCT as fast as possible. Pulling to a stop in front of the building, his and Ruby's lockers impacted into the cobble stones in front of them. Shutting the bike off, he sprinted for his, pulling his jacket and cummerbund off in favor of bulletproof armor and tactical vest. Already loaded with magazines for his MPX and pistol, he strapped a hip extender onto his right thigh and slammed his P220 into it. Finally, he pulled a black balaclava with white skull onto his head, but didn't pull it all the way down. "Stay behind me. And take off those damn heels. You can't fight if you can't walk."

They dashed inside and into the elevator, hitting the button to take them to the top floor. To Ruby's shock, Jäger was perspiring visibly and slightly trembling.

"Jäger? Are you ok," she asked with some concern.

He flashed what was meant to be a cocky grin but came out as more of a grimace. "I have nearly died on the top floor of a building several times now. An unfortunate habit of mine. But it is when we are closest to death that we are truly alive. I'll be fine." As they approached the top floor he flicked on the laser on his submachine gun and pulled down his mask. Immediately after the doors opened, Jäger rushed out and to the left. He stayed low, crouch walking around the exterior, MPX up and scanning for any hostiles as he cleared out the communications booths.

Ruby, on the other hand, simply walked out into the area, Crescent Rose held at the ready.

"Hello," she called. "Is anyone there? Hello?"

As she continued forward, a female figure in a black, skintight bodysuit stood up.

Ruby's grip on Crescent Rose tightened. "This isn't a masquerade ball and you're not supposed to be here. So why don't you take that mask off and …" Before she could finish, the girl drew a container of dust, spread it through the air, and launched the resulting crystals at Ruby. She gasped, and spun Crescent Rose in a tight circle to block the attack. Going on the attack, Ruby fired, launching herself forward, bringing the blade of her scythe down in a strike that would have cut the girl in twain. Her opponent flipped backwards to avoid her strike and formed a bow from Aura in midair, launching three arrows at the Red Rose. It was then that Jäger decided to make himself known. As the unknown girl landed, and Ruby completed her backflip, the Marine popped up, laser centering on the girl in black. The sound of his submachine gun, chambered in .357 Sig, sounded like a cannon in the confined space. The figure gasped as two rounds penetrated her side before splitting her bow into two swords and using them to deflect or dodge the remainder of the rounds. The elevator dinged, opening to reveal General Ironwood as the figure disappeared in a cloud of Dust. Disgusted, Jäger flipped his weapon to safe before pulling off his mask. "General, as I am sure you want to know what happened, we will speak in the morning. Until then, however, I will be returning to the dance." With that, he left.

—Line Break—

Fifteen minutes later, Jäger was once again in his evening dress and inside the dance hall. He stood on the balcony, overlooking the dance floor, searching for anyone who fit the profile of who he had just fought. His eyes narrowed as he spotted a likely target. Slipping down the stairs and onto the dance floor, he came up behind his quarry without them noticing.

"Evening Squid. Glad to see you got your leg repaired," he drawled. In front of him, Mercury paled dramatically, but turned to face his opponent.

"Yes, it was rather irritating, but no issues now. Was there something you needed?"

Jäger smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. "If the lady is willing, a dance would be most appreciated. I assure you, she will be in the best of hands."

Mercury felt Cinder's hand tighten painfully on his own and misinterpreted what this meant. "Of course. I've been rather thirsty in any case." With that he moved off.

Jäger turned to the ravenette and bowed. "Milady, would you do me the honor?"

Cinder bowed somewhat stiffly. "Of course," she replied, offering her hand.

Jäger took it, his left hand falling to her waist, just above her hip. As they danced, he felt something rubbing against his hand through the fabric of her dress. "You might want to get that wound looked at," he commented lightly. "For some odd reason I have been unable to determine, lead and copper do not react well with Aura. Plus, even if you cauterized it, those rounds were near the kidney, and a severed renal artery is extremely unpleasant. I have experienced internal hemorrhaging a few times before, it is not fun in the slightest." Shocked at how easily he had discovered her, Cinder could only gape at him as he released her, stepped back, and bowed. "Thank you for the dance milady. Although I must say, the first dance was much more interesting. I wonder how it would have ended if you had stuck around." With that parting shot he faded back into the crowd.


	16. Chapter 13

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

Beacon

Ozpin's Office

"They were here Ozpin, they were here!" Ironwood slammed his fist onto Ozpin's desk to illustrate his point.

"We're very much aware of that! Thank you, James" Goodwitch was less than amused.

"Fantastic! You're aware! Now are we going to do something about it or should we just stay the course and continue to ignore what's right in front of us?"

Before either Goodwitch or Ozpin could reply, the elevator dinged and opened, revealing Jäger and Ruby.

Ozpin rose from behind his desk. "Mr. Kristiansen, Ms. Rose, thank you for coming. Now that you have rested, if you would be so kind as to tell us everything you can remember about the intruder at the CCT last night."

"I will wait for Ruby to finish, if that is acceptable," Jäger said. Ozpin nodded and turned to Ruby.

"Was anyone else with her? Did she look familiar to you at all?" Goodwitch began.

"I…I don't know. She was wearing a mask, and she never said anything to me. But I know she fought with glass. I don't think that was her Semblance though. He clothing lit up whenever she attacked."

Goodwitch looked thoughtful. "Save for the glass, that sounds like the woman I fought the night we met Ruby."

Ironwood was less optimistic. "Embedding Dust into clothing is an age-old technique. It could've been anyone."

Ruby picked up on the tension immediately. "Wait. You think this girl is connected to Torchwick and the White Fang?"

"It's possible," Ozpin allowed. "But we lack the required evidence to link the two together."

Ruby appeared conflicted for a moment. "Actually, I…I think I remember her saying something about a hideout or something in the southeast. Just outside of the kingdom."

Ozpin steepled his hands. "Interesting." He stood. "Thank you for your cooperation Ruby. Why don't you go spend some time with your team? You have a big day ahead of you."

"Anytime," she called as she entered the elevator.

Once the doors had closed, Ozpin turned to Jäger. "Jäger, what do you have to add?"

"I hit her, I can tell you that. She took at least two rounds to the lower abdomen. Pistol caliber, yes, but they were hollow points. I can tell you right now she was in a significant amount of pain." He smirked. "But that's irrelevant, because I know who she is."

Chaos exploded around him.

"What do you mean you…"

"You will tell me who it is this instant or…"

Jäger raised his hands. "Peace, peace. I was going to tell you who it is." His eyes sharpened. "But you will do nothing with this information aside from setting discreet surveillance. She is of more use to us free than in a cell."

"As much as I'd like to disagree with Mr. Kristiansen here, I cannot. Since we do not know the extent of their plans, we must take care to not force them to move too quickly," Ozpin began. "Currently, she is injured and has had her confidence badly shaken. If we do not react, she will grow confident again, and then complacent." He raised his eyebrow. "Who is she?"

A manila folder slapped down onto his desk. "That's what I have been able to gather. Now, I don't know how much of it is accurate and how much of it is false, but it's what I have."

Ironwood picked up the dossier and began leafing for it. "This is a military level intelligence file," he said with some incredulity. "How did you do this?"

"I have read and contributed to thousands of files like that. In any case, her name, or current pseudonym, is Cinder Fall. She is approximately 5'11", somewhere around 120-130 pounds. Black hair, fair skin and amber eyes. In combat she favors her right side, doubly so now because I shot her." He flipped a page. "It is when we get to her associates that things become clearer. Emerald Sustrai. Thief and pickpocket from Mistral, unknown semblance. Utilizes twin revolvers which shift into kusarigama. Her partner," he turned the page. "Mercury Black. Son of Marcus Black, the assassin. Trained by his father. Semblance unknown. Utilizes twin boots similar to Ms. Xiao Long's Ember Celica in combat, which is augmented by his prosthetic legs."

"How did you determine all of this?" Ironwood was understandably suspicious.

—Line Break—

Flashback

Jäger walked into the club, immediately noticing the armed guards placed around the building. Making his way to the bar, he took a seat at the end.

"What'll it be," came the bartender's gravelly voice.

He looked up. "Two things. One, bourbon on ice. Two, I need some information." A glass slid into his left hand.

"Now, before we discuss business, I need to know how you found out about me."

Jäger smirked. "An acquaintance of mine. Said I should bring her back a Strawberry Sunrise if I came in here."

Junior started twitching. "You've made your point. What do you want?"

Jäger slid three pictures across the bar. "I need everything you have on these three. I don't care if it is a rumor or not. I need everything."

—Line Break—

"That was all the information my contact had. He had heard rumors regarding someone named Salem, and something about a maiden or maidens."

Ozpin paled dramatically, glancing back and forth between Ironwood and Goodwitch. "Jäger, would you do me a favor and wait downstairs? I need to ask these two something rather confidential. We will call you back up when we have reached a decision."

Jäger nodded. "Of course sir." As he entered the elevator he heard Ironwood begin shouting at the headmaster.

"You cannot seriously be proposing what I think you are."

—Line Break—

Ten Minutes Later

Once again, Jäger found himself inside Ozpin's office facing the Headmaster, Ironwood and Goodwitch.

Ozpin began. "Mr. Kristiansen. What I am about to tell you must not be spoken of outside this room. Due to what you did…previously…I have no doubt you are more than capable of holding your silence. What do you know of the Tale of the Four Maidens?"

Jäger blinked at the apparent non sequitur. "Nothing sir. While knowing folk tales can be sometimes useful for infiltration, I was going for more integration here than infiltration. Thus, I ignored such things in favor of history and the like."

"I will be brief then. The story tells the tale of an old hermit with great power, who is visited by four maidens. Together, they convince him to leave his life of solitude and live as a man ought to. In return, he granted each of them a portion of his power, over the particular season they represented." Ozpin looked at the soldier shrewdly. "As I am sure you know; all legends have a grain of truth in them. In this instance, the maidens were granted access to a great power that was attached to their semblance and had ties to particular seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. This power moves from woman to woman, and it is our duty to protect the Maidens from those who would use their power for nefarious purposes."

Here Ironwood picked up the tale. "Now, about 6 months ago, the current Fall maiden was attacked by forces unknown and left comatose. The attacker somehow managed to steal some of her Maiden's power. Currently, we have the Maiden, Amber, held in stasis in the Vault below Beacon. We would like you to join us in our efforts to heal and protect her."

For the first time since he had arrived, the Marine was stunned. "I'm not sure I understand." He turned to Ozpin. "I have made what I am quite clear to you on several occasions. I am a killer Headmaster. A scalpel as opposed to a sledgehammer, but a killer nonetheless. How am I to help you with what is essentially the protection of a stationary asset, moreover, one that is near death's door?"

Ozpin stood. "For starters, would you be willing to review the security surrounding the Vault? We can discuss things further once that is complete."

Jäger nodded. "Of course."

—Line Break—

30 Minutes Later

Jäger sat in front of the Headmaster's desk, head in his hands.

"If that is y'all's idea of a secure facility I shudder to think what a team of people like me could do. Hell, if I had the rest of Chaos with me, I could breach that facility, steal or eliminate everyone and everything inside, and exfiltrate inside of 20 minutes. First off, the floor of the elevator is not good enough. A single thermite charge to melt through the floor, followed by grippers on the cables and I can simply fast rope down onto the proper ledge and force the doors open. Leave one man inside the car to handle dragging everything up, and that's it. For starters, reinforce the flooring to something that can withstand temperatures in excess of 4000 degrees Fahrenheit. Beyond that, automated turrets with overlapping fields of fire covering the walkway would be ideal, along with secondary and tertiary security entrances, to prevent an attacker from launching a single projectile down the length of the tunnel. If it were my facility, I'd put in sympathetic demolition charges, allowing me to collapse both the tunnel and the Vault itself in a sequential manner, allowing me enough time to reach an escape tunnel. Which should also be installed. Beyond that, it is adequate. It's deep enough to survive a direct nuclear blast, as well as sheltered enough that any surface engagements would take some time to reach the necessary depth to crack the walls."

Ozpin looked aghast, Goodwitch horrified, and Ironwood had an odd combination of revulsion, directed at Jäger, and curiosity on his face. "I had not considered any of that," Ozpin muttered.

"What is a nuclear blast," Ironwood asked.

Jäger sighed. "Do I let the genie out of the bottle, or keep it locked up?" He shook his head. "I'm sorry General, but I cannot tell you. Even though I know how to create a nuclear weapon, the amount of damage it would do to the world would be immeasurable. Let me give you an example." He looked around. "You all know what a fault line is, yes? Cracks in the tectonic plates that make up the planet's surface?" seeing their nods, he continued. "The largest nuclear detonation in history was so big, that it created its own fault line. It was roughly 1000 miles from the nearest natural fault. The detonation was so loud it broke windows over 500 miles away. So no, I will not be telling you anything more about nuclear weapons or their creation. That genie is staying inside his bottle."

Now all three were completely horrified. Ozpin returned to the present first. "You have given us much to think about. Please, go spend some time considering what mission you would like to undertake and with whom to do so. I will see you tomorrow Mr. Kristiansen."

Jäger nodded, and left.

 **A/N: As y'all can see, I am cranking these out right now. Because of this, if anyone notices any errors, please, either Review or PM me, I will correct them post haste. Also, reviews are always appreciated.**

 **Alpah out.**


	17. Chapter 14

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

Beacon

Amphitheater

Jäger stood next to teams RWBY and JNPR, along with the majority of Beacon's students, waiting for Ozpin to speak.

Ozpin stepped forward and tapped the microphone. "Today we stand together, united. Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale. The four Kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression. And as you are well aware, that was something many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither were the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day. We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntresses will work to uphold it. As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional Huntsman or Huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the Kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best."

"This is perfect! All we have to do is shadow a Huntsman working in the southeast!" Ruby was understandably exuberant.

"Yeah! We'll follow them around by day and give them the slip by night," Yang suggested.

"While that is an option, it might not be the best, but we will see." Jäger was suitably cautious.

"Let's go check 'Search and Destroy missions," Weiss offered. The five of them walked over to the holographic screen.

"Here we go! Quadrant 5 needs Grimm cleared out," Ruby said.

"Well, it's in the southeast," was all Blake said.

Ruby selected that mission and typed in the team name, only for the screen to flash red before stating that first year students are not permitted to take that mission. Weiss was suitably sarcastic with her exclaimed, "wonderful."

"Any other ideas,' Blake asked.

Ruby thought for a moment. "We'll mail ourselves there!"

Ozpin spoke from behind them, causing the four girls to jump. "Well, that's one option. Unfortunately, we determined that the concentration of Grimm was too extreme for first-year students. It seems that particular region is rather popular. In fact, I have the sneaking suspicion that you four will make your way there no matter which job you choose."

—Line Break—

Flashback

"Well there we have it. We send as many troops as we can to the southeast, find out exactly what's going on, and eradicate any forces that stand in our way." Ironwood's plan was suitably aggressive.

Goodwitch growled in frustration. "Why must your answer to everything involve a triumphant display of military bravado!? You treat every situation like it's a contest of measuring di—!"

"Glynda!" Ozpin interrupted.

"Well, he does," Goodwitch defended, almost petulantly.

Ozpin sighed. "She's right. As much as I too would love to end this situation once and for all, we must remember that this may go beyond Vale. Beyond Beacon. And if this truly is part of some master plan for which we know not the final move, we mustn't be so bold. Nor can we risk the spread of panic."

Ironwood was incredulous and incensed. "I have served you faithfully for years... but if you mean to tell me that your plan is to really hold the defenses, and wait—!"

Ozpin, in a startling loss of composure, stood and slammed his fist onto his desk. "It is not! You're a general, James. So tell me, when you prepare to go to war, which do you send in first? The flag bearers, or the scouts?" His tone turned thoughtful. "And I have just the scout in mind."

—Line Break—

Present

Ruby rubbed her head embarrassedly, as her teammates glared at her. "Whatever makes you say that?"

"I'm still curious how you all found yourself at the docks last semester. I'm interested to know how you really learned about a hideout in the southeast. And I certainly wonder why witnesses reported seeing robots and rose petals in a dance club some time ago," Ozpin casually offered.

Ruby was left stammering.

Ozpin smiled shrewdly. "I doubt I'll ever find the exact answers I'm looking for. So how about this: instead of waiting for you all to break the rules, why don't we just _bend_ them?" He hit some keys on his scroll, and the mission team RWBY wanted flashed and disappeared.

"We won't let you down," Ruby promised. "Thank you, professor."

"Do not thank me for this," Ozpin warned. "Teamwork and persistence have carried you far. But you must understand, the things that await you beyond the protection of the Kingdom will not care. Stay close to your Huntsman at all times, and do exactly as he says. He will be leading you on this mission, and he can have you sent back to Beacon, if he finds your skills to be unsatisfactory. Good luck." He turned to Jäger. "Mr. Kristiansen, we have begun changes based on your suggestions, particularly the parts about a secondary exit." Then, he left.

Jäger disappeared for a moment and reappeared. "JNPR is going to be shadowing a Sherriff in a local village, so I'm coming with y'all. Let me gather my gear and I'll meet you on the landing pad." With that, he moved off.

Slipping into the armory, he opened his three lockers and began selecting equipment. Bulletproof vest, tactical vest, smoke grenades, flash bangs, frag grenades. Boxes and magazines of .45, 5.56 and .308 went in as well. Then came the dilemma of what weapons to take. His Sig P220 came as a matter of course, with a suppressor going into the bag also. It was followed by a CZ Bren 805 and a Mossberg MVP LC, also with suppressors, and night vision equipment. Finally, he secured his axes onto his back, his mask into his pocket and shemagh around his neck. Slamming the lockers shut, he made his way to the landing pad.

—Line Break—

"Professor Oobleck?" Weiss was understandably confused.

"Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary, girls," Oobleck began, "seeing as you've opted to shadow a Huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission. I can assure you, we will not be establishing a single base of operations; rather, we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland and making camp in any defendable locations we may stumble upon. I packed all of our essentials myself, plotted our air course, and readied the airship. And..." he leaned down very close to Weiss' face, "it's Doctor Oobleck. I didn't earn the PhD for _fun_ , thank you very much!"

"Uh..."

"Come now, children; according to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind!" he paused for a moment, "...schedule!"

"Well, alright, then! Looks like we're going to save the world with Doctor Oooobleck- okay yeah when you say it out loud it sounds worse." Ruby was rather downtrodden.

Jäger picked up his duffel and began walking off towards the Bullhead.

"Mr. Kristiansen, I thought I told you that you will not be needing the bags?"

"My apologies sir. I do not use weapons with multiple forms, thus I find it necessary to carry more than one weapon with me. This bag is my gear for the mission sir."

Oobleck nodded his understanding. "Ahh. That makes sense. Very well." With that done, Jäger set himself down and with an air of years of practice, fell asleep.

—Line Break—

Jäger awoke to the sound of Oobleck shouting over the din of the engines.

"The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves, but it is also the location to one of the kingdom's greatest failures!"

Ruby nodded her understanding. "Mountain Glenn."

"That's right! It was an expansion of Vale... but in the end it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city," Yang mused.

"Correct! And now it stands abandoned as a dark reminder."

"And a likely place for a hideout," Blake put in.

Oobleck adjusted his glasses and smiled. "Precisely!"

Jäger began donning his equipment.

"How on earth were you asleep?"

Jäger turned to Weiss. "I've have been on craft like this so many times, it is easy. When you do this often enough, you learn to sleep whenever you can. Trust me, after 48 hours without sleep, you'll sleep in one of these just fine.

—Line Break—

The Bullhead came to a hover over a ruined courtyard, letting the six drop down.

Jäger immediately went to one knee and began scanning. Seeing no danger, he began to move off.

"Mr. Kristiansen, where are you going? We are to search this area for any signs of criminal activity."

Jäger sighed. "Dr. Oobleck. Each of us has a different specialty. Yang is a brawler, Weiss a close quarters combatant, Blake an infiltrator and Ruby a marksman. My specialty is precision rifle fire at extreme range and from concealed positions. Thus, I am going to act as my training dictates. I will find a suitably high position with adequate cover and concealment, and cover the area. I will check in every 12 hours, but other than that I will be maintaining radio silence."

Oobleck could only nod. "Very well. I expect to hear from you in 12 hours."

Jäger nodded, and stalked off, muttering to himself. "Time to hunt."

—Line Break—

12 Hours Later

"Radio check. All clear. 12 hostiles eliminated, mostly Beowolves. Have not been detected currently."

"Understood Mr. Kristiansen. How have you not been detected yet?"

"The weapon I am currently using is suppressed, on top of which I am using subsonic ammunition. My shots are so quiet it is very difficult to hear in the best of conditions."

"Interesting. Nevertheless, I'll hear from you in another 12 hours."

—Line Break—

Jäger awoke from his light sleep, hearing barks from beneath him. Immediately, he sighted in on where the noise was coming from, .308 subsonic ready in the chamber. His finger came off the trigger as he saw Ruby enter his sight. He sighed and went to make some noise when the roadway beneath Ruby's feet cracked and collapsed, sending her and the dog tumbling into darkness. Instantly, he was on his feet, sprinting down from the 10 floor of the building he was currently hiding in. As he did so, he slung his LC and drew his 805. As he entered the doorway to the building, he saw the small dog, a corgi by appearance, come tumbling out of the hole, followed by a small cry as Ruby fell into darkness.

He looked at the dog and knelt. "I must be going insane." He addressed the dog. "You know where the rest of the team is?" A bark was his answer. "Go get them. I'll go to recover your owner." Another bark, and the dog ran off. Steeling himself, Jäger dropped into darkness.

—Line Break—

Yang awoke. "Hey Weiss, it's your... Ruby? Hey, where's Ruby?"

Oobleck was immediately alert. "What?"

Zwei came running into the room, barking.

"Zwei?" Yang confused and worried.

Blake, understandably, latched onto the dog **.** "What's going on?"

Oobleck came to a decision. "Grab your weapons! Your leader may be in trouble."

—Line Break—

Jäger dropped into the darkness with a minimum of noise. Everything was painted in the varying green hues of night vision equipment as he scanned the area for threats. Seeing none, he made his way towards the doors that Ruby had been dragged through. Softly prying them open, he turned off the goggles so as to not be blinded by the lights in the cavern he found himself entering. In front of him were two White Fang guards. Raising his Bren, he unleashed four shots, two each, which slammed into their backs with a minimum of noise. Stooping, he grabbed the bodies, and hid them off to the side, out of sight for the most part. Then, he made his way deeper into the cavern.

—Line Break—

The rest of Team RWBY and Oobleck gathered around the hole in the asphalt. Yang noticed crescent rose first. "Ruby's scythe!"

"Oh no." "Do you think she fell?" Blake and Weiss overlapped each other, but something had caught Oobleck's attention.

His head snapped up. "Fell?"

Weiss pointed. "Down there."

Oobleck gazed into the hole and came to an internal realization. "Oh my. Of course! Of course, OF COURSE, OF COURSE!"

"What is it?" Blake asked.

Oobleck ignored her and continued berating himself. "How could I be so stupid?!"

By this point, Yang was understandably distressed. "Dr. Oobleck, what's wrong?"

Oobleck began rattling off facts which all connected inside his head. "Mountain Glenn! Yes, an expansion of Vale that was inevitably destroyed by creatures of Grimm! Previously home to thousands of people! Working people commuting to the city, the main city! Developed a subway system to the inner city! Grimm attacks increased! Population in danger, now desperately searching for shelter! City evacuates into the metro tunnels and what do they find? The southeast quadrant of Vale is known for wild forests and deep caves!"

"Doc, what are you saying?" Yang still didn't understand.

"My dear, we're not just looking for an underground crime network, we're looking for an UNDERGROUND crime network!"

Blake made the connection immediately. "They've been working in caves?"

Oobleck shook his head. "No, no, Mountain Glenn was Vale's first serious attempt at expansion. It worked for a short period of time, thanks to an aggressive perimeter defense, and unique transportation; the city developed an elaborate subway system to carry citizens safely from the new territory into the main Kingdom! Sadly, without the many natural barriers Vale had to protect its borders, Mountain Glenn was doomed from the start! As the end drew near, the citizens of the territory made one last attempt at survival: They took up shelter beneath the city! In massive caves that they had cleared out for the subway. And they had cut themselves off from the surface!"

"An underground village?"

Oobleck nodded. "In a matter of speaking, yes. A safe haven. Until... an explosion opened the mouth of another cavern, filled with subterranean Grimm. After that, the Kingdom officially sealed off the tunnels, creating the world's largest tomb. If Ruby is down there, we must find her."


	18. Chapter 15

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

 **A/N1: GORE WARNING**

Mountain Glenn

Jäger stealthily made his way through the tunnels, sticking to the shadows in search of Ruby. Hearing voices up ahead, he moved forward slightly to see what was going on.

"Hey boss! Found something you might want to see!" And there was his target, groggy from unconsciousness, but still alive. Then things got complicated.

"Is it good or bad, Perry? Because let me tell ya, I have had a day," came Torchwick's voice from inside the railcar.

The White Fang guard dragging her shrugged. "Uh, it's a little girl?"

Torchwick leaned out from the car and locked eyes on Ruby. "That would be bad."

—Line Break—

Jäger faded back into the darkness and pulled out his Scroll. First, he input a code that would send a particular rocket launched carrier to his location as soon as he was inside Vale. Then, he messaged the other members of Team RWBY.

 _Leader located. Currently held by Torchwick. CAUSE A DISTRACTION and I will recover her._

Yang replied immediately, followed by Blake and Weiss.

 _Distraction coming. -Y_

 _Torchwick is MINE. -B_

 _No raging. She is my partner after all. -W_

Jäger sighed, put his scroll away, and drew his pistol to screw the suppressor onto the muzzle. Moving forward with the weapon held in front of him, he reached the end of the shadows and waited.

He didn't have to wait long as a massive explosion rocked he tunnels. Roman looked up from where he had Ruby pinned.

"Oh, what the... Perry, if you and the boys could take care of that? Kinda in the middle of something." As the Faunus went to do so, a second, larger explosion sounded. "WHAT is going on here?!" Roman was understandably irritated by the prospect of the cave collapsing on them. A third explosion rang out and multiple White Fang members came running around the corner. Some of them stopped to fire at whoever had been causing the explosions. As Weiss, Blake, Yang, Zwei and Oobleck run around the corner, much to Roman's annoyance, Jäger acted. Swapping pistol for Bren, he stepped out firing, dropping four White Fang in as many seconds. Torchwick Recoiled, both at the violence and the grinning skull on his mask. Still firing, Jäger turned and began gunning down the White Fang around him as Ruby took off down the tunnel.

"Somebody kill him," Roman yelled as he ducked into cover. Grabbing the nearest White Fang soldier, he gave the order. "Attach this cart and spread the word. We're getting out of here."

Ruby was sprinting away, but screeched to a halt the sight of four White Fang soldiers in front of her. Before they could do more than raise their weapons, however, a trio of shots dropped three, while an explosion sent the bodies and the fourth flying, revealing Yang.

Weiss' first concern was for her partner. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine! But listen! Torchwick's got all kinds of weapons and robots down there."

"What?!" Blake exclaimed as she handed Ruby Crescent Rose.

"Androids, mechs, they're all loaded up on the train cars!"

Oobleck dismissed her immediately. "Ahhhh, that's ridiculous. These tunnels are sealed, the tracks lead to a dead-end."

Roman's voice rang out across loudspeakers. "Get to your places, we are leaving now!"

"Well, it sounds like they're going somewhere," Yang supplied as the train started moving.

"We need backup. Let me call Jaune…" Ruby started before jumping as Jäger appeared in front of her.

"No time," he said curtly. "We need to stop that train."

—Line Break—

Oobleck was leading the group, with Jäger behind covering him. "Hurry, children! We must get to the front and stop this train!"

"Err... Professor?" Weiss started.

"Doctor..."

She pointed down through a hatch. "What's that?"

Oobleck knelt down to look. "That my dear... appears to be a bomb."

"Then get the fuck away from it," Jäger yelled. He reloaded, seeing dozens of White Fang climb onto the top of the train. "We've got hostiles!"

Oobleck had an air of resignation. "Well, I didn't expect them to go—"

The bomb underneath them charged up and started beeping.

"—easy on us," he finished as he stood up. "Time to go!"

As Team RWBY started running to join Jäger on the next car, Oobleck stopped Blake.

"Blake! Detach the caboose! It will kill us all!"

She nodded. "On it." The caboose detached and separated. Jäger thought things were working for once before he heard Blake yelling. "It decoupled itself!"

Jäger and Oobleck yelled at the same time. "What!?" "Fuck!"

"I guess he really doesn't want us on this train," Yang snarked.

The car exploded behind them.

"That's not good..." Oobleck muttered.

From right behind Jäger, Ruby yelled. "Err, neither is this!"

"Another bomb?!"

Oobleck started visibly panicking as he ran from car to car, looking inside each. "No. No. ALL have bombs!"

The bomb behind them began charging, forcing them to leap to the next car.

"This doesn't make sense!" Yang yelled.

More White Fang clambered atop the train. "Get the humans!" one yelled.

"Yes it does," Jäger yelled as he shot the yelling White Fang member in the chest twice. "He's breaching the tunnels, allowing Grimm into the line! At this speed, we will breach the surface at the end of the line and allow Grimm into the city."

"That's insane!" was all Blake could say.

Oobleck took charge again. "We have to hurry! Weiss, Blake, Yang and Jäger, go below and try to stop those bombs!"

"What about us?" Ruby asked.

"We're going to stop this train."

As Jäger jumped down into one of the bomb compartments, he sarcastically yelled at Oobleck. "Hey, I said that earlier."

Reaching into his kit, he pulled a screwdriver, pliers and wire cutters. Gently opening the casing, he began looking at the internals, trying to figure out what was the power source, the timer, the board, and the explosive itself. Before he could make any decent headway, the bomb began beeping, forcing him to abandon it and jump to the next car. Dropping into the car, he found Yang on the ground, unconscious, while the same girl in pink, white and brown from before stood over her, about to stab her in the throat with a narrow, rapier-like blade.

Jäger reacted instantly. His first shot from his pistol hit the blade, sending it off course. The second hit the handle, wrenching the weapon out of the girl's grip. She looked up, mismatched eyes watching him closely, her head cocked to the side.

"You have three seconds to kneel on the ground and place your hands behind you head. I'm assuming you know who Cinder is?" Seeing her nod, he continued. "I'm the one who wounded her. So don't think I won't hesitate to kill you. The same is true for if I even think you are casting an illusion." Her faced morphed to one of shock and her eyes both went white. "So do as I said. Now." Instead of kneeling, she swung herself into a backflip, grabbing her blade as she completed the maneuver, before leaping up and back. Jäger fired as she did so, and succeeded in hitting her before she managed to teleport away. "Dammit."

As he said so, Weiss' body came flying through the doorway. Looking up, he drew a M67 frag grenade from his vest, pulled the pin, and lobbed it through the doorway. A muffled, "What the fuck," reached his ears before he heard the crump of the grenade going off. As the two girls returned to consciousness, he walked into the next compartment. The White Fang Lieutenant, who he had shot previously was clearly dead. He had evidently picked up the grenade and held it near his chest, as the majority of his ribcage, along with his arms to just below the elbow were missing. Blood painted the back half of the cabin.

"Huh. So that's what a grenade does here. The aura must slow the fragments down marginally, giving them more time to pass through tissue, and thus, inflict more damage." Behind him, he heard the sound of the two girls throwing up.

He glanced over his shoulder. "C'mon. This is nothing. Be glad we aren't where I call home."

Joining Blake, with the unconscious Torchwick, the four clambered onto the top as Ruby joined them. Seeing the fast approaching wall, Jäger went prone and braced himself as Weiss created a shield of Ice around them. The train slammed into the wall.

—Line Break—

Team RWBY came to as a thunderous crash rang around the square they were in. What looked like a rocket propelled shipping container had just landed in the square, not fifteen yards from the quartet. As the side panels collapsed outwards, revealing an odd looking roofless truck, they noticed Jäger sprinting towards it. "Fucking get in," he yelled. "We've got about 60 seconds before the Grimm get here!"

The four looked at each other, shrugged, and followed him.

Jäger immediately began giving orders as civilians panicked around them. "Yang, you're on the .50. Pull the bar on the right side to chamber the round, and depress the butterfly in the middle to fire. Blake, passenger seat, on the M240B. Same chambering method, pull the trigger to shoot. I'm driving, Weiss and Ruby are in the back. Ruby, M249 facing the rear, same system as Blake. Weiss, cover the right side with the 249. Move!" Everyone jumped to do as he had ordered. The engine fired up with a roar, and Jäger put the beast into gear, simultaneously chambering his M249. Just as he started moving, a King Taijitu burst through the hole created by the train car, followed by Creeps, Boarbatusks, Beowolves and Ursai. Jäger's gun truck erupted with noise as he and the other four opened fire, doing their best to keep the Grimm contained. As they did so, Teams JNPR and CVFY, along with Sun and Neptune arrived and began engaging the Grimm as well. Seeing the reinforcements, Jäger made a decision.

"Ruby," he yelled. "Out and deal with the Nevermores! You three, we are on perimeter defense. Nothing makes it more than 250 yards from the breach! CONTAINMENT is the key here!" He paused as a thought came to him. "And watch your fucking fire! This rounds will go through Aura as if it isn't there, so if you aren't certain you can make the shot, don't take it!"

Tactics set, the mechanical beast began prowling the edges of the fight, rounds arcing over the heads of those present to stop Grimm form moving deeper into the city, or to give support to one of the other Hunters. As Atlesian Knights began dropping in around them, and Goodwitch sealed the breach using her Telekinesis, the fire slackened, then stopped, as all the Grimm were eliminated.

Jäger gave a tired laugh. "And with that adrenaline high over, I'm gonna pass out for a minute." He did as he said, falling asleep in the driver seat in an instant.

—Line Break—

An hour later, Team RWBY and Zwei were sitting on the edge of Beacon's landing platform, overlooking the City of Vale from across the lake. Jäger lay on the pad, about 15 feet away.

"Well, we did it," Yang stated.

Almost incredulously, Blake parroted her. "We did it."

"If we don't get extra credit for that, I'm gonna be seriously disappointed."

Jäger chuckled. "Always worrying about grades, aren't yah Weiss?"

"Weiss, a two-headed snake literally crushed a bakery. I wouldn't count on it." Yang had to burst that particular bubble.

"Plus, I mean, we didn't solve everything. A lot of people were hurt, and we still don't even know why they did this, or who that mystery girl was," Ruby added.

"Don't worry about her," Jäger said. "I winged her at least, so she'll be suitably cautious the next time she appears."

"Besides, not every story has a neat and tidy ending," Weiss said.

"We might not have all the answers, but we do have a lot of dangerous people behind bars. And I think that's something we could be proud of," Blake agreed.

"Yeah! And if anyone tries something like this again, we'll be there to stop them."

Yang lay back, mimicking Jäger's pose. "Yay, teamwork, camaraderie, good guys, go team, alright, good job... So, what now?"

"I suggest training for the tournament, but I guess we have that covered at this point," Weiss started. "I do have one question though." She looked at Jäger. "What on earth was that?"

"My truck?"

"Yes."

The Marine snickered.

—Line Break—

Vale

6 months prior

"Welcome to Valian Performance Motorsports. What can I interest you in?"

"That one."

—Line Break—

Beacon

Day after purchase

"Ozpin, I need the details on how the rocket lockers work."

"Why?"

"An idea I had in case I need a quick evac or some serious firepower. Or both."

"Very well. The work by…"

—Line Break—

"Once I had that it was easy to find an abandoned shipping container and outfit it with the necessary pieces." Jäger shrugged. "I ain't complainin."

"Interesting. So, what now," Blake asked.

Ruby thought for a moment. "Uhh... Time for bed?" She was met by a chorus of agreement.

"Please." "Absolutely." "Yes."

"I'm going to sleep forever," Yang finished.

Jäger snorted, having not moved from his position. "Sleep is for the weak. Have fun." The team walked off.

 **A/N2: And that's Volume 2 folks. Holy shit. I can't believe I did two chapters in a day. So, a little break before starting Volume 3, but probably only 2-3 weeks so I can focus on school a little. Yes, the Gun Truck is going to appear again. As for its appearance in the first place, I felt that it was too good an opportunity to pass up. Come on, basically a super armed Humvee in Vale? Absolute pandemonium, just like a promised.**

 **A/N3: Right, seeing as now I actually have some reviews to respond to, I'll take the time to do that.**

 _ **Gravenimage:**_ **Where to start. One, the attack on Beacon in Vol. 3 will be happening. Different, slightly, but happening nonetheless, seeing as it is what drives Vol. 4 along. Jäger will not be speaking to Torchwick, for one simple reason. Ironwood does not trust him yet. You have to remember, Ozpin has just introduced the two of them to each other, and while Ironwood can admit he has some skill, he isn't sure on his stance towards him yet. Also, Jäger isn't quite onto Cinder and her team per se. He knows that they are causing shit, possibly in relation to the tournament, but he isn't sure how or why yet. I had a thought of removing the virus at one point, but decided that'd be too much altering.**

 _ **Abrahamgreat1:**_ **Glad you liked it. One of the things that always bothered me about the Vault was how much of a trap it was. Also, I've noticed that official authorities do tend to be useless in a crisis, since they've grown complacent in dealing with what is 'normal' for them.**

 _ **Brony757:**_ **Yeah, the I was really happy with the way I wrote the dance. I tried to describe Jäger's dress uniform as well as I could. But, if you want, Google USMC Officer Evening Dress and it should come up. I also tried to get some Pyrrha/Jaune development going, as: 1. I tend to be rather awful at that type of writing, and 2. RT by no means developed that arc (haha) enough. Seriously, that scene went through almost a dozen rewritings before I was happy with it. Jäger's still a massive bastard, but he can be a kind bastard on occasion.**

 **Finally, I asked this when I started, but I'm going to do so again. Who should I save, Penny or Pyrrha? Personally, I am leaning towards Pyrrha, and even have the scene partially written, but I haven't written the end of it yet, so anything is possible. I also have the majority of the PvP fight written, so I could alter it so Penny survives, but again, I haven't decided.**

 **Alpah out.**


	19. Chapter 16

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

 **A/N: So this is going to be a mostly back story chapter, with some flashbacks scattered throughout. If it seems disjointed, it's because it is. I'm trying to show parts of Jäger's mindset and psychology right now, so this should, hopefully, clear up some questions people have. If it doesn't, please let me know what questions y'all have and I will do my best to answer them. Also, let me know what y'all think anyway, as reviews are awesome.**

Beacon

A shadow stalked the halls of Beacon, silently prowling throughout the school in the night.

"Couldn't sleep?"

The shadow whirled, pistol rising, centering squarely on the chest of the enemy…Ozpin.

"Dammit Ozpin. Don't do that," Jäger said. He holstered his weapon. "I nearly shot you."

"I am confident that I would have remained uninjured. But you have not answered my question."

The man out of place sighed. "I am haunted, both by what I have done, by what has happened to me, and by what could have been." He let out a laugh, but it was a short, clipped sound devoid of any humor. "I'm reminded of something my father told me. 'I have my ghosts, and I see their faces.' He was right." He turned and looked out the window, eyes slipping out of focus as he was besieged by memories again.

—Line Break—

Mosul, Iraq, 2017

"Technical, front left!" The white Honda pickup, with a Soviet made DHsK heavy machine gun rolled around the corner firing, sending Iraqi militia, American special forces and Kurdish fighters scrambling for cover.

"Somebody drop that fucking gunner!" A Kurd dashed into the middle of the street with a RPG-7, knelt, and fired. His rocket arced into the sky, flying harmlessly over the hostile vehicle. Before he could run back, a stream of rounds impacted into his body, sending him to the ground in a pool of blood.

"Blackbeard! Give me covering fire!" The Delta operator nodded, and then stepped out, leveling his M249 and sending a stream of 5.56 rounds at the truck. Jäger took a steadying breath and in a single motion he turned, knelt, sighted and fired. The gunner, turning to fire on Blackbeard, dropped like a puppet with cut strings as his head snapped back.

"Move!" As the Iraqi's and their allies began sprinting forward, they heard an odd clanking noise coming from up ahead. Right as they reached the intersection, a menacing armored shape nosed its way out of the alley in front of them. The quad AZP-23 Amur turned to face the attacking forces. Only single word was needed. "ZEUS!" someone screamed. Men scrambled every which way, trying to get out of the weapon's line of fire.

Jager threw himself against the door of a house, sending the wooden barrier crashing to the ground with him atop it. Scrambling out of the doorway, he hugged the ground as a stream of 23mm tracers and armor piercing rounds tore through the walls above his head. The rounds shredded the walls around him, sending the building crashing down on his prone form. A piece of falling masonry impacted onto the back of his head, and darkness claimed him.

—Line Break—

Flashback

CCT Elevator

Jäger and Ruby dashed inside and into the elevator, hitting the button to take them to the top floor. As the car rose, Jäger felt his heart accelerate, and knew, in a distant part of his mind, that he was trembling.

"Jäger? Are you ok," Ruby asked with some concern.

He tried to smile, to play it off as nothing. "I have nearly died on the top floor of a building several times now. An unfortunate habit of mine." Memory overcame him.

—Line Break—

Raqqa, Syria, 2018

"This is Jäger. We are in position."

"Roger Jäger. Your orders are to provide overwatch and fire support for the Delta operators in Raqqa. They are extracting a HVT, you must ensure that they make it out of the city. "

"Understood. Jäger out." His reticle moved smoothly across the open expanse of ground in front of the main mosque in Raqqa. He and his spotter, Ranger, were safely sequestered in an apartment on the top floor of the building across from the mosque.

Ranger's voice broke through his reverie. "Two targets, 500 yards."

Jäger activated his radio. "This is Jäger. I have visual on two hostiles near the western minaret. Please advise."

"Good to hear you Jäger. This is Blackbeard. I see the two you are talking about. We'll take care of them."

Jäger clicked his mic, signaling his acknowledgment. In his scope he saw two shadows detach themselves from the wall, before silently dragging the two terrorists off into the dark.

The whisper came over the radio. "Moving."

As SFOD-Delta slunk through the courtyard. They had just made it to the gateway and their exfil vehicle when spotlights around the courtyard slammed on.

"Jäger kill those fucking lights!"

"Firing." His rifle recoiled into his shoulder and a spotlight exploded and went out. ISIS fighters boiled out of the mosque and opened fire, filling the courtyard with muzzle flashes and tracer fire. He calmly selected targets, looking for those with any heavy weapons, leaders, or simply more competent fighters. With each squeeze of the trigger, another terrorist fell. Then Blackbeard yelled out over the radio.

"RPG!" The backblast lit the courtyard as the anti-tank rocket flashed across the intervening distance to slam into the window from which Jäger was firing. The world descended into chaos as the explosion blew him from his perch atop the dining room table into the back wall. Ranger was in front of him yelling as he lay on the floor in a heap, but all he could hear was the ringing in his ears. He looked down to see the front of his trauma plate covered in blood. It was then that the numbness in his shoulder turned into a burning agony, and the smell of burnt flesh assaulted him.

—Line Break—

"But it is when we are closest to death that we are truly alive. I'll be fine." And with that the elevator doors opened and training took over.

—Line Break—

Beacon

Present Day

Jäger placed his forehead onto the glass and watched his breath fog up his view. Then he came to a decision. "Ozpin. Thus far I have been stumbling around in the dark, stopping things when I see them beginning. No longer. If I am going to be effective in this, whatever this is, I need to know what we are fighting and why."

Ozpin joined him, looking out over Vale. "There is a woman, or what was once a woman, named Salem. Her goals are nothing less than the complete and utter destruction of humanity. Why we are unsure. She has been hunting the Maidens for years, and now has nearly managed to kill one, thanks to Cinder. That's why the Guardians were founded, to protect the Maidens and combat Salem's machinations."

Jäger nodded. "And here is the crucial point. Are we at war Ozpin? Because if this is a war, then I have many more ways in which I can operate." He turned to face the Headmaster. "You forget, or never truly understood. I spent most of my adult life hunting down the enemies of my country and killing them. I have done reprehensible things, and yet, I would do them all again to keep my country safe. If this is a war, I need to know. Because that will change how I fight."

Ozpin sighed. "Things have been spiraling further and further downwards towards war, but no, we are not at war. Yet. That may change soon however."

"Decide quickly. Because we have an opportunity here. I can decapitate some of the enemy's leadership, and I'm good enough to make it look like an accident. Besides, I already have a kill list, so if you give me the word, I will start working on them."

Ozpin was shocked by Jäger's candor. The Marine, seeing his incredulity, simply shrugged. "I am a pragmatist." His face tightened into a snarl. "Besides, those fuckers are terrorists, and there are few things I hate more than terrorists."

Ozpin remained silent for a moment, thinking over what he could do. "You are free to engage those you see. But you are not to go searching for them yet."

Jäger slowly nodded. "I can work with those Rules of Engagement. Do you want prisoners?"

Ozpin shook his head. "Right now it is more valuable to deny assets to Salem. If you think you can capture and hold, do so. Otherwise, removal."

A wolfish grin spread across Jäger's face. "Area Denial. Works for me." He started to walk away, but stopped and turned back. "I will give you one warning Ozpin. If something happens, something which breaks the pattern, I will do what I do best. Scorched earth. If you can't hold a position, deny it to the enemy. And believe me, I will do so in a heartbeat. And there will be no mercy." He chuckled darkly. "Raise the red flag boys, for there shall be no quarter given nor received."

Ozpin raised his eyebrow. "No quarter? I am unfamiliar with that term."

"It's from my home. Raising a red flag prior to an engagement meant no quarter, which meant that there would be no prisoners taken nor any aid given to the defeated. No prisoners meant that none are left living. Victory or death." And with that he walked away, and the shadows of the hall seemed to swallow him as if he was one of them.


	20. Interlude 2: The Armory

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

Interlude: The Armory

Prologue:

Sig 556xi: 5.56 NATO battle rifle designed by Sig Sauer. Weapon was designed to be quickly switched from 5.56 NATO to 7.62 PACT with a minimum of different parts.

M40A5: USMC designated sniper rifle. Chambered in .308 with an effective range of just over 1000 yards. Weapon uses a Unertl 10x fixed power scope, as well as a McMillian fiberglass stock.

P220: Handgun designed by Sig Sauer in the 1970's. Chamber in .45 ACP and uses a double-single action, meaning that when the hammer is down there is a long trigger pull to fire. The recoil of the slide then ejects the spent casing, cocks back the hammer, and loads a fresh round. The second shot is, therefore, a short trigger pull, due to the hammer being back prior to firing.

Chapter 2:

P220 Compact: Nearly identical to the P220, the 220 Compact is a concealable version of the 220 with a 2.5/3-inch barrel as opposed to the 4.5-inch barrel of the full size 220.

Chapter 3:

Carl Gustav: 84mm recoilless rifle designed for use against a variety of targets. The weapon fires a variety of rounds including a High-Explosive Dual-Purpose (HEDP), High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT), High-Explosive (HE), and an Area Defense Munition (ADM) Flechette round.

Chapter 5:

HK416: Heckler and Koch designed 5.56 NATO rifle, generally agreed to be the best M4 variant weapon produced. The weapon is nearly identical to the M4, with major changes occurring in the manufacturing process.

Chapter 6:

MCX: Sig Sauer deigned modular carbine designed for use by special forces. Chambered in multiple calibers, the one used here is .300 Blackout, a specialized subsonic round designed for use in suppressed weapons.

M84 Stun Grenade: Also known as a flashbang, the M84 uses magnesium and ammonium to generate incredibly intense light and sound. The combined effects induce loss of hearing and sight as well as decreased balance and perception.

Chapter 7:

M67: US issued baseball fragmentation grenade, the M67 is a steel sphere with a high-explosive core and a 4 second fuse. Upon arming, the grenade is thrown and detonates, sending steel fragments at high velocities. Fatality radius is 16 feet and injury radius is 49 feet.

Chapter 8:

Sig 716: .308 Patrol rifle developed by Sig Sauer. Based on the Armalite AR-10, the 716 has an effective range of 900 yards, and can accept a variety of attachments, including optics, bipods, fore grips and other pieces.

Remington 870: Tactical pump action shotgun developed by Remington, the 870 is chambered in 12 gauge. Tube holds 8 shells and can be modified to have door breaching attachments as well as lasers or flashlights.

Chapter 9:

Remington MSR: Produced by Remington, the Modular Sniper Rifle is a .338 Lapua Magnum rifle with an effective range exceeding 1 mile. The weapon is lightened, allowing easy maneuvering for the operator, and can be used from a variety of positions.

Barret XM109: Designed by Barret Firearms, the XM109 is a prototype high caliber anti-material rifle, chamber in 25x59mm. The round is capable of piercing multiple layers of armor, and when used in the HEDP variety, can easily engage light armored vehicles, grounded helicopters and aircraft, and fixed positions.

Chapter 10:

SMAW: Short for Shoulder-launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon, the SMAW is an 83mm multi-use rocket launcher designed for use against fixed positions or armored vehicles. The weapon can fire three distinct rockets, with the High Explosive Dual Purpose (HEDP) round being used for building and light armor. The High Explosive Anti-Armor (HEAA) round is used against tanks and other heavy armored vehicles, while the SMAW Novel Explosive (SMAW-NE) round utilizes a thermobaric explosive in order to collapse buildings. The SAMW-NE was introduced in 2003 and received heavy use by the USMC in Fallujah in 2004.

FIM-92 Stinger: A MAN-Portable Air Defense System (MANPADS) weapon, the Stinger missile launcher is an infrared guided anti-air system designed for use against helicopters and low flying aircraft. Weapon fires a 5-foot-long missile, which accelerates to 1600 mph and has a maximum range of 26,000 feet.

Chapter 12:

MPX: Sig Sauer produced Modular Sub-Machine Gun (SMG). Weapon comes in a variety of calibers, in his case .357 Sig. Weapon is also entirely modular, with stock, barrel, and upper receivers capable of being switched out in minutes. Also boasts the capability to attach an integrated silencer when necessary.

Chapter 14:

CZ 805: Produced by Czech Arms, the CZ 805 Bren is a 5.56 NATO battle rifle that combines aspects of the AK-47 and the M16. The round and safety mechanism are similar to the M16, while the side charging handle and stock are reminiscent of the AK.

Mossberg MVP LC: The Mossberg MVP Light Chassis (LC) is a bolt action rifle that is chambered in .308. The weapon features many interesting characteristics, the most notable being that it uses Magpul P-Mags, as well as using a free floating barrel.

Chapter 15:

M249: Designed as a replacement for the M60, the M249 is a Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) chambered in 5.56 NATO. Designed for use by infantry squads as well as emplaced on light vehicles, the 249 is capable of firing 200 rounds per minute (RPM) in suppression, and 100 rpm in sustained fire. The weapon is capable of firing from a STANAG magazine or a belt-fed box.

M240B: The M240 is the heavier variant of the M249, chambered in 7.62 NATO. The weapon is primarily used on vehicles, but has seen use by infantry in Afghanistan and Iraq. With a fire rate of 750-900 rpm, the weapon is incredible deadly against infantry.

M2: Heavy machine gun designed by John Browning in 1930. Fires the .50 caliber BMG round, with a fire rate of 750-850 rpm. Used primarily on vehicles in turrets, as coaxial machine guns on tanks, and as door/ramp guns on helicopters. Maximum effective range of 2700 yards.

Chapter 16:

DHsK: Soviet made 14.5mm heavy machine gun. Primarily used on vehicles.

RPG-7: Soviet designed multi-use anti-tank rocket launcher. Fires a variable caliber rocket, ranging from 40mm for anti-personnel use to 105mm for anti-building.

AZP-23 Amur: Main armament on the ZSU-23-4 Shilka. While the weapon is designed for anti-aircraft use, the barrels are capable of depressing 4 degrees below horizontal, making it incredibly dangerous as an anti-infantry weapon. The weapon is a quad-barreled 23mm autocannon, capable of firing a combined 3400-4000 rpm.

 **A/N: So, decided that this would be useful to include for those who are not familiar with the weapon systems being discussed in the story. Also, current chapters have been delayed because I have been going through the story and correcting everything that has eben bothering me. Some of it is grammar and spelling, some is stylistic. I should hopefully have the corrections done by Saturday, with the new actual chapter coming out either on Monday or Tuersday, depending on when I am working.**

 **Alpah out.**


	21. Chapter 17

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

 **A/N: So, hopefully the previous chapter was helpful in showing some of the reasons why Jäger acts the way he does. What I, unfortunately, haven't been emphasizing is that Jäger is a veteran special forces operator, with all the cynicism and mental trauma that comes with such a title. As I start going back and editing what I have written once I finish the Volume 3 Chapters, I will be adding scenes to further emphasize this, as it is a key part of the story. Anyway, onto the next chapter.**

 **A/N2: Sorry for the delay. All the names that Jäger gives for himself have some significance for him and thus myself. James Mattis, the name he gave to Cinder and co. is one of the men I admire most. If you don't know who that is, look him up. Veritable modern American hero the likes of Patton or Chesty Puller, and the new Secretary of Defense. Now, the story for real this time.**

Vale

Ice cubes clinked together as Jäger swirled his glass. Students were required to report to Beacon later today, and rather than spend the time working on his guns in his warehouse, he made his way to a bar in downtown Vale, near to the Airship docks. He sighed and raised his glass. "Na zdaróvye," he toasted, before swallowing the vodka. The barkeep looked up at him, shook his head sadly, and went back to wiping the bar top. The Marine stood, finished his drink, and threw 20 lien on the bar. "That should cover my tab, and one for the man at the end." Barkeep nodded his assent, and without another word, Jäger went to leave the Crow Bar. A voice stopped him.

"I never let anyone buy me a drink without knowing their name." the black haired figure turned, tattered red cape fluttering behind him. "So," he drawled, "what's yours?"

"My name is my own." He thought for a second. "But you can call me Ragnar. Ragnar Loðbrok."

"Qrow Branwen."

Jäger nodded. "The Reaper. Good to know." He turned away. "Enjoy your drink." And with that he left.

—Line Break—

As Jäger walked to Amity Coliseum, his instincts were humming. Ducking into a side alley, he called in his Urban Combat locker. Safely ensconced inside Jäger found a veritable armory. Quickly selecting pieces, he placed his veil, tac vest with M84s, M18s, and CS Grenades, plate carrier, CZ 805 with 10 magazines, five more P220 mags, and his custom M40A5 with 40 rounds of match grade .308 into a duffel bag that already contained some assorted weapons and zipped it closed. With that done, he slammed the door closed and left. The rockets on the launcher fired, and it headed back to Beacon.

—Line Break—

Amit Coliseum

Rather than watch team RWBY fight from the stands, Jäger made his way up into the service corridors of the stands, seeking the highest ground possible from which he could observe the arena and the stands themselves. Swiftly finding his ideal perch, he unfolded his bipod and began observing the crowd, searching for any possible threats, either from Cinder and her allies or the White Fang. Beneath him, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang faced their counterparts, spending too much time, in Jäger's mind, talking, and not enough time fighting. He was so focused on looking for threats that he missed the first call by Oobleck.

"Would Mr. Kristiansen please report to the arena for his match?"

Growling in frustration, Jäger collapsed his bipod, slung the M40A5 and walked down to the arena, swapping his live ammo out for simmunitions as he did so. As he entered, he pulled on his balaclava, imprinted with a grinning skull, and left the veil draped across his shoulders. Facing him was an odd looking quartet, with only one ranged fighter. From the speakers, he heard Oobleck.

"Due to his age, Mr. Kristiansen will be fighting on his own throughout the tournament. Furthermore, due to the unique nature of his weapons, a single hit to the chest or head will result in elimination."

Jäger smirked. Time for the trash talk.

The leader looked at him askance. "You must be either very good or very arrogant. I'm going for the arrogance."

Jäger's smirk only widened. "How about this then. I'll make a bet with you. If your little sharp shooter over there…" He was almost immediately interrupted.

"Hey! I am a sniper!"

Jäger looked at her disdainfully. "Where I'm from, you would barely class as a designated marksman. Be quiet girl, the adults are talking." He turned back to the leader, who was by now looking a little uncomfortable. "As I was saying, if you little sniper wannabe over there can manage to hit me, even once, I will forfeit the match." The entire stadium started muttering.

Team BRNZ's leader looked unsure, before regaining his confidence. "Deal." Around them the banners began spinning like a slot machine. Behind Jäger, the banners signaled the urban terrain, causing him to smile behind his balaclava. Behind BRNZ, a forest appeared. Letting his 805 hang, he drew an M84 and a CS grenade as Oobleck began the countdown.

"Five." Jäger slid his thumbs inside the pins.

"Four."

"Three." The pins were pulled clear.

"Two." The spoons flew, arming the grenades.

"One. Begin!" Both grenades landed at the feet of the enemy team. As the flashbang detonated, blinding and disorienting his opponents, billowing clouds of tear gas hissed from the other grenade. Without a second thought, Jäger turned and sprinted for the buildings, firmly ensconcing himself in the rubble. As the choking smoke cleared, Team BRNZ looked around wildly, eyes streaming as they coughed.

"Where'd he go!?" The girl took one look at the ruined buildings, then turned and began sprinting for the forest. Jäger let her go. Deep within the rubble, shrouded in shadow and hidden from direct view, he sighted in on one of the members, stilled for a moment, and fired. The round crashed into the center of his chest, sending him stumbling back as Oobleck's voice rang out across the arena.

"Nolan Porfirio has been eliminated by aura. Did anyone see where that shot came from?"

Jäger sighted again and fired, this time dropping the leader.

"Brawnz Ni is eliminated, again by aura."

A round pinged off the window sill, 5 feet in front of his position. Drawing a smoke grenade, he rolled it forward, and then began moving, letting the thick smoke conceal his movement. Slipping into a secondary position, he waited.

"It appears May Zedong has found Kristiansen's position. Will the remaining members of Team BRNZ manage to capitalize on this?"

A ghost of a smile flitted across Jäger's face as the lone melee fighter from the opposing team sprinted into the building. The entire coliseum heard the scream.

"Oh fuck!" Then the building exploded as the C4 in the next room detonated, sending him through the window and into the center of the field.

"Roy Stallion is eliminated, by aura for a third time."

Deciding to end things, Jäger swiveled and fired, his round crashing into May's chest. The sheer force of the round sent her tumbling from her perch, and she smacked heavily into the ground.

"And with that, Team BRNZ has been eliminated. Mr. Kristiansen has not lost any aura, nor has he even received a single hit. It seems we have a title contender on our hands."

Jäger crawled from the rubble and walked away.

—Line Break—

Vale

The Crow Bar

Branwen set his glass heavily on the bar top.

"That kid was incredible! He…he only moved twice in the entire fight."

Qrow simply grunted. But inside, his mind was awhirl.

—Line Break—

Amity Coliseum

With his fight over, Jäger returned to his perch overlooking the Coliseum. As fights continued he spent his time observing the stands and drawing his range card, setting mental markers for distance so he could respond even more swiftly and accurately. Eventually, the fights ended, and he folded his bipod and left the stadium.

—Line Break—

Beacon

As Jäger slowly made his way back to the dorms from the Coliseum, he was interrupted by a large crowd forming in the middle of the courtyard. Pushing his way through the swarm of students, he came upon Ruby and Weiss.

"What's going on?"

Ruby jumped. "Jäger! I didn't hear you." She shook herself. "My uncle Qrow got in a fight with Weiss' sister Winter." She turned back to the fight. "Kick her butt Uncle Qrow!"

Behind them, Jäger nodded and reached into his bag. Wrapping his shemagh around his mouth and nose, he pulled two CS grenades out of his bag and popped the pins. Dropping one at his feet, he lobbed the other across the courtyard. As the clouds of gas began to billow out, sending those nearest into choking coughing fits, Qrow and Winter froze. Pushing his way through the throng of distressed students, Jäger stepped up to them.

"I would think you have better things to be doing than fighting each other." He looked down at his scroll. "Get to Ozpin's office. Both of you. Ironwood and I will be there shortly." Winter looked up at him, eyes blazing. He stared back, grey eyes colder than the North Sea. "Pick your next move very carefully, Specialist." Ironwood stepped up behind Jäger, silently adding his own weight to Jäger's order. Seething, Winter turned, sheathed her sword and stormed off. After a moment, Qrow followed.

—Line Break—

Ozpin's Office

Inside Ozpin's office, Ironwood waited with his arms crossed while Winter impatiently paced about. Jäger was an island of calm, leaning against the window with his eyes closed. Suddenly, the elevator dinged, opening to reveal a smirking Qrow alongside Ozpin and Goodwitch. Winter immediately rounded on Qrow.

"What were you thinking!?"

Ironwood added his own input. "If you were one of my men, I would have you shot!"

Qrow pulled out a flask as the three entered the room. "If I was one of your men, I'd shoot myself." Jäger snickered quietly in the corner.

Goodwitch was somewhat irritated. "While I wouldn't condone his behavior, retaliating like you did certainly didn't help the situation."

"He was drunk!" Winter defended.

"He's always drunk!" Goodwitch shot back. While the women had been yelling at each other, Qrow had pulled out his flask and began draining it. The other five turned in time to see him halfway through the alcohol. His eyes widened once he noticed Ozpin, Ironwood, Goodwitch and Schnee staring. Jäger had simply nodded once and gone back to leaning against the window.

Ozpin stared at Qrow in shock, then sighed and sat down. "Qrow, why are you here?"

Ironwood picked up where Ozpin left off. "You've been out of contact for weeks! You can't just go dark like that in the field!"

"I'm not one of your special operatives, Jimmy!" Qrow shot back.

Winter interrupted. "General."

Jäger raised his hand, stopping Qrow from responding. "Ms. Schnee. Out of everyone here, you have the least reason to be speaking. In fact, part of why we are here is to discuss your complete over reaction to an incident that could have been resolved peacefully. Be silent unless addressed. Am I clear?" His voice carried a clear threat at the end.

Qrow looked at Jäger with a little gratitude. "Thanks." He turned back to Ozpin and the General. "You sent me to get intel on our enemy, and I'm telling you, our enemy is here."

Ironwood leant against Ozpin's desk. "We know."

Qrow was understandably incensed. "Oh! Oh, you know! Well, thank goodness I'm out there risking my life to keep you all informed!"

Ironwood tried to speak, only to get interrupted by the irritated Reaper. "Qrow –"

"Communication's a two-way street, pal. You see this?" He snatched his Scroll out of his shirt. "That's the SEND button."

Winter spoke again. "They had reason to assume you'd been compromised."

Jäger and Qrow spoke at the same time. "Assumptions get people dead more times than not. And I thought I told you not to speak."

Qrow looked sideways at Jäger. "And I have reason to assume you don't need to be here. Seriously, who invited her?"

Ironwood was silent for a moment. "Schnee, we'll discuss this incident back at my ship."

Winter was visibly taken aback. "But sir!"

"Insubordinate as well as unable to follow simple orders. Not so special after all," Jäger commented.

Winter rounded on him. "Who are you to think you can give me orders?! You are nothing compared to me; you're a nobody. Why are you even here?"

Jäger pushed himself off the wall. "You, girlie, need a lesson on when to be silent and when to speak." He gestured at Qrow. "He knows me as the guy who bought him a drink at the bar earlier. The Headmaster and General know me as the man with more military experience than both of them combined. Remind me, when was the last time you fought something other than an animal? I spent my time fighting people. And I am very, very good at it. So learn some goddamn respect before you go running your mouth off." He tuned back to Ironwood. "I don't know what y'all's basic training is like, but it must be fucking easy as hell if she didn't have that attitude beaten out of her. Where I'm from, she would have just been reduced in rank to Private and then confined to the brig for at least a month for questioning a superior."

Ironwood looked at Winter. "Schnee. Leave."

She saluted Ironwood, visibly cowed. "Yes sir." With that she turned and left.

Ironwood gestured to Qrow once the elevator had closed. "Go on."

"Your little infiltrator isn't just another pawn. They're the one responsible for Autumn's condition." He took a drink from his flask.

"What?" Goodwitch was aghast.

"Despite what the world thinks, we're not just teachers, or generals, or headmasters." He turned to Jäger. "Or whatever you are." He looked back at Ironwood. "The people in this room, the leaders of the other two academies, we're the ones that keep the world safe from the evils no one even knows about!" He stepped up to Ironwood until their faces were inches apart. "It's why we meet behind closed doors, why we work in the shadows. So you tell me, James, when you brought your army to Vale, did you think you were being discreet, or did you just not give a damn!?"

Ironwood was unapologetic. "Discreet wasn't working." The center of the room projected a hologram of Vale, Beacon Academy, the Amity Colosseum and Ironwood's fleet of Atlesian Airships, which he gestured to. "I'm here because this is what was necessary."

Qrow was relentless. "You're here because Ozpin wanted you here! He made you a part of this inner circle and opened your eyes to the real fight that's in front of us!"

"And I am grateful."

"Oh, well, you've got a real funny way of showing it."

Ironwood tried to explain. "The people of Vale needed someone to protect them; someone who would act. When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe, and our enemies will feel our strength."

Qrow started laughing, and Jäger narrowed his eyes at the note of fear in the sound. "You... You think they're scared of your little ships? I've been out there and I've seen the things she's made, and let me tell you - they are fear."

Ozpin stood up. "And fear will bring the Grimm. A guardian is a symbol of comfort. But an army is a symbol of conflict. There's an energy in the air now, a question in the back of everyone's minds..." He gestured to the display. "If this is the size of our defenses, then what is it we're expecting to fight?"

Ironwood glared at the room for a moment before sighing and walking forward. He picked up his Scroll. "So then, what would you suggest we do?"

"I suggest we find our guardian," Ozpin said.

Jäger snorted. "Aren't those supposed to be the Hunters and Huntresses? I understand that these Maidens have other powers that put them a cut above, but how can they be guardians over 5 continents?"

Qrow narrowed his eyes at the Marine. "Who exactly are you? When you bought me a drink you said your name was Ragnar, but that was obviously not true."

Jäger nodded. "Names have power. And I never give my name to someone I don't know." He stuck out his hand. "James Kristiansen. But most call me Jäger."

Qrow didn't take the proffered hand. "And why did Ozpin allow you into this little conspiracy?"

Jager drew back his hand and shook his head. "That is a long and complicated story. The short version is this: I'm not from Remnant. I was born on an entirely different planet, in, from what we can tell, an entirely different reality. I grew up, went to school, and joined the military. I became an extremely experienced special operator, and during a mission, somehow ended up in the Emerald Forest during Initiation. Ozpin," he gestured towards the Headmaster, "offered me a place to stay while I adjust to being on a new world, and I accepted. Over time I became involved in some students' escapades against the White Fang and others. He decided to read me into what you all do, hoping to leverage my experience." He fixed Qrow with an ice cold stare. "Know this. I will do whatever I can to defend humanity."

Qrow nodded, and stuck his hand out. "Nice to meet you then."


	22. Chapter 18

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

 **A/N: Happy New Year y'all. After how shitty 2016 was, 2017 would be hard pressed to be worse.**

 **A/N2: Apologies for how long this took, I had a serious case of writer's block. As always, R &R. – Alpah**

Amity Coliseum

Jäger watched the reminder of the doubles portion of the tournament from his perch with little notable action. The only fight that he found to be of interest was the one between Coco Adel and Yatsuhashi Daichi and Mercury and Emerald.

–Line Break–

Steel grey hair filled Jäger's scope as he sighted in on Mercury. Opposing the pair was a confident Coco Adel and meditating Yatsuhashi Daichi, waiting in the center of the stadium for the holographic roulette to pick the field.

Over the speaker system, Port's voice echoed loudly. "Emerald and Mercury of Haven, versus Coco and Yatsuhashi of Beacon!"

Beneath the sniper, Colosseum choose four fields to rise up from below in quarter sections: A patch of tall grassy plains which has a single tree and some rocks; the ruins of a city, complete with buildings holding shattered windows and rubble among the pavement; a hot spring containing geyser spots along a small river and some blue Dust crystal growths; and a familiar section of dense forest.

As the obligatory trash talk wrapped up, Yatsuhashi stood. "Three, two, one, begin!"

Instead of charging forward, Mercury and Emerald slowly backed into the tall grass, disappearing from view behind the leaves. Coco and Yatsuhashi glanced at each other before Coco deployed her Gatling gun. Firing as fast as possible, she began mowing down the field to roars of approval from her fans. Coco's fire began to slacken off as she and Yatsuhashi realized the two opponents aren't in the plains section anymore.

High above, Jäger popped his head up from his scope, before shaking his head in confusion and sighting in again. Back in the arena, Mercury dropped from the sky, aiming for Coco. Before he could land, Yatsuhashi pushed her out of the way and blocked the boots with his blade, throwing Mercury back into the air. Coco opened fire at him again, but Mercury was able to outrun the stream of lead.

"Where's Emerald," Jäger muttered.

The three continued to fight, with neither CVFY or Mercury able to gain the upper hand. Then, just as Mercury began to be overwhelmed, two chains flew out of the forest to latch around Coco's arms and drag her back into the forest. Mercury used this distraction to launch an attack on Yatsuhashi. Growling, he grabbed Mercury's boots and threw him into the hot springs. Launching himself into the air, he descended like a thunderbolt at Mercury's still sliding form, but his blade landed on his opponent's boots, sending a shockwave throughout the arena. The circles caused the water to fly back, while the sheer force of Yatsuhashi's strike caused the earth to crack underneath Mercury, and multiple geysers to form around them. Mercury broke free and launched an all-out assault on his opponent, eventually gaining the upper hand. As Yatsuhashi fell back, his head landed in one of the geysers just as it fired. Mercury launched a spinning kick at the warrior before he could recover, depleting his aura and eliminating him from the fight. Not thirty second later, Coco flew out of the forest to land next to her groaning partner.

"And with an amazing upset, Emerald and Mercury are victorious!" Oobleck sounded just as shocked as the rest of the stadium looked.

Up in his perch Jäger tracked Cinder as she stood and left the stadium. Then, he folded his bipod down and left.

–Line Break–

Beacon

Ozpin's Office

Back at Beacon, Jäger, Ozpin and Qrow were deep in discussion.

"You know, he's making you look like a fool."

Ozpin turned to face Qrow. "His heart is in the right place. He's just... misguided."

Qrow snorted. "Sometimes, I'm not even sure he has a heart." He took a drink from his cup and pushed himself off the wall. "So, have you chosen your guardian yet?"

Ozpin turned back to his desk. "Maidens choose themselves. I simply believe I've found the right candidate. Ever since the day I met her, I had the feeling she would be the one. She's strong, intelligent, caring... but most importantly, she's ready."

"I still don't think that we can ask her to do this for us."

Ozpin looked at Jäger. "And why not?"

The Marine folded his arms and glared at the Headmaster. "Identity was something that was deeply important to my people. Your mind is what forms our identities. By attempting to transfer Ambers aura and very soul into our…candidate… we run the risk of, at the very least, altering if not erasing her current identity. That is not something I can support." He turned to gaze out over the City of Vale. "A man cannot die so long as someone remembers him. Interfering with someone's soul must always be our last option."

Ozpin sighed. "I cannot disagree with that James, but the fact of the matter is that we have no other options. What else can we do?"

The Marine turned back towards the other two. "Allow Amber to die. We cannot know for certain what will happen, but I can guarantee that if Cinder physically kills her, she will become the Fall Maiden. This is completely uncharted territory and we must tread very carefully."

"And if the power does go to her? What do we do then?"

Jäger looked at Qrow. "Between the three of us, Ironwood and Goodwitch, I think we stand a very good chance of killing a Maiden, especially one who has only recently come into her full power. It would take a large scale Grimm attack and an exceptionally powerful Grimm to even the odds. I think…"

Behind him the elevator dinged, and Pyrrha stepped out. Jäger's mouth snapped closed.

Walking forward, Pyrrha came to a halt before Ozpin's desk. "You wanted to see me headmaster?"

Ozpin smiled. "Yes, my dear. Please, have a seat." As she did so, Ozpin continued. "Well, it comes as no surprise that they've chosen you to move on to the final round of the tournament. Your performance was exemplary."

"Thank you, Professor Ozpin, but I would have never made it this far without my teammates," she demurred.

Qrow spoke up from his spot leaning against a column in the back of the room with his arms crossed. "Personally, I think it's the other way around."

Pyrrha turned. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've been introduced."

"Name's Qrow." Behind Pyrrha, Jäger shook his head in exasperation.

"Qrow is a trusted colleague of mine."

Pyrrha looked at Qrow for another moment before addressing her teacher again. "Professor, if you don't mind me asking, why have you called me here?"

Ozpin answered her with a question of his own. "What is your favorite fairy tale?"

Pyrrha blinked at the non sequitur. "I'm... sorry?"

"Fairy tales, stories from your childhood," Ozpin explained. "Surely you must remember some of them."

Pyrrha answered with a hint of nostalgia. "Well, there's The Tale of the Two Brothers, The Shallow Sea, The Girl in the Tower..."

Ozpin leaned forward. "What about The Story of the Seasons?"

Pyrrha started. "Well, of course! A callous old man, who refuses to leave his home, is visited by four traveling sisters. The first understands his reclusive nature and urges him to use his time in solitude to reflect and meditate. The second brings him fruits and flowers, tending to his crops and revitalizing his garden. The third warms the man's heart, convincing him to step outside and embrace the world around him. And the fourth and final sister begs him to look at all that he has, and be thankful. In return for their kindness, the man grants the maidens incredible powers, so that they may continue to help others all over the world. They graciously accept, and promise to share their gifts with the people of Remnant 'til the end of days. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall; the four maidens. My mother loves that story."

"Would you believe me if I told you that one's been around since I was a boy?"

"You're not that old, Professor," Pyrrha laughed.

Jäger spoke up. "I'm not that sure Pyrrha. He certainly speaks the way an old man does," he finished with a smirk.

Ozpin glared at Jäger, who merely shrugged, before turning back to Pyrrha. "Well, would you believe me if I told you it was true?" His tone was deadly serious.

Pyrrha laughed, but her voice held her unease. "I beg your pardon?"

Ozpin continued. "What if I told you that there were four maidens existing in this world, that could wield such tremendous power, without Dust?"

Pyrrha visibly struggled with the concept. "You mean... like a Semblance?" she hesitantly asked."

Ozpin gave a small smile. "Like magic."

Pyrrha looked down.

Qrow chuckled from his corner. "Yeah. First time hearing this, it's pretty crazy."

Pyrrha was shocked. "You're serious?"

Jager moved into her line of sight and she turned to look at him. "Pyrrha. We wouldn't be having this discussion if we weren't serious. The very world is at stake here."

She swallowed. "Why are you telling me?"

Ozpin folded his hands in front of him and leant over the desk. "We are telling you this, Pyrrha Nikos, because we believe you are next in line to receive the Fall Maiden's powers."

Her eyes widened. "We?"

Behind her, the elevator dinged, opening to reveal Goodwitch and Ironwood.

Ironwood straightened his tie as he walked out. "Sorry we're late."

Pyrrha was visibly overwhelmed. "Wait, what is this? Who are you?"

Goodwitch spoke reassuringly. "You know who we are. We're still the same teachers and Headmasters you met when you arrived at Beacon."

"And sort-of students," Jäger added.

Qrow stood up straight. "But we've got a little part-time job."

"We are the protectors of the world."

"And we need your help," Ozpin finished.

Pyrrha was shocked into silence as everyone in the room looked at her.

–Line Break–

Inside Ozpin's elevator, the five guardians and Pyrrha rode in silence. Jäger stood in the corner, eyes closed as he rested against the wall.

"Where are we going?"

Ozpin spoke. "The vault. Under the school."

Jäger cracked an eye open. "How many of my upgrades did you install?"

Ozpin turned to look at him. "The floor, the turrets and the second exit." Jäger grunted before closing his eyes again.

A minute later, the elevator came to a rest. Once the door opened, Ironwood, Ozpin and Qrow stepped out.

Goodwitch turned to look at Pyrrha as she slowly walked out of the elevator, followed by Jäger. "I'm sure you must have questions."

"Maybe one, or two," she started. "I still don't understand. You said I was next in line to receive the Maiden's power. What do you mean by that?"

Goodwitch sighed. "The Maidens have existed for thousands of years. But much like in nature, the seasons change. No two summers are alike. When a Maiden dies, her power leaves her body and seeks out a new host, ensuring that the seasons are never lost, and that no individual can hold on to that power forever."

"It also added a level of accountability," Jäger said. "If a Maiden ever grew to be too powerful, or started acting against the interests of humanity, she could be…eliminated…and the power could safely transfer to another."

"So, how does the power choose?"

"Through a series of stupid and convoluted rules," Qrow called over his shoulder.

"Qrow," Goodwitch chastised.

"Hey, don't get mad 'cause I'm right."

Goodwitch turned back to Pyrrha. "At first, the only thing that was certain was that the powers were specifically passed on to young women. But as time went on, it was discovered that the selection process was much more... intimate."

Her eyes visibly widened. "Intimate?"

Goodwitch explained. "As we understand it now, when a Maiden dies, the one who is in her final thoughts is the first candidate to inherit her power."

Jäger spoke up. "With some exceptions. If it's a male or an old woman, the power goes to someone unrelated, which makes determining who the new Maiden is a little difficult."

"Why tell me all of this now? Why not wait until I've graduated?"

"Honestly, we've run out of time. I don't know if you've not noticed, but things are getting a lot scarier out in the world. Tensions are high. Grimm are growing stronger, more prevalent. And it's not going to be long before the peace we've been enjoying for so long goes out the window."

"Way to make things depressing Qrow," Jäger sarcastically remarked.

"You're not... talking about a war?"

"Not a war between nations," Ironwood stated ominously.

Qrow continued. "We can fill you on the details once we know that you're with us. For now, all you need to know is that one of the Maidens has been attacked. And for the first time in history, part of her power was stolen."

The group reached the end of the corridor. Before them were two pods with a terminal between. The right pod was occupied by a young woman who had burn scars across part of her face.

Pyrrha hesitantly stepped forward. "Is that her?"

Ozpin sighed. "She is the current Fall Maiden, Amber."

Pyrrha shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself. "She's... still alive."

Ironwood nodded. "For now. We're using state of the art Atlas technology to keep her stable. But there is a lot about this situation that is... unprecedented."

"What do you mean? Won't... her power... just transfer to the next host?"

"Look who's been listening! She is smart…"

"Qrow," Jäger barked. "Hold your tongue for once. Now is not the time." Pyrrha startled, having not noticed the Marine standing behind her. She looked gratefully at Jäger, who simply nodded.

Ironwood continued the conversation. "Under normal circumstances, yes. But this is a delicate situation. It's not uncommon for the last thoughts of the slain to be of their attacker. And to make matters worse, no one's seen the power split like this before. For all we know, it will seek out its other half."

"Her assailant," Pyrrha murmured.

Ozpin nodded gravely. "And that would not bode well for any of us."

"Least of all me."

Pyrrha turned to look at Jäger. "Why you?"

His expression turned wolf like. "I shot her. Twice, in fact, and then made it blatantly obvious that I knew exactly who she was."

Pyrrha's eyes widened and she took a step forward. "If you know who she is, why haven't you done anything yet?" She was shouting at the end.

Jäger folded his arms and glared at the irate Spartan. "Because sometimes, having an enemy in the open where you can see the moves they make is more useful than having them eliminated. We are not sure why she is here, although we can guess. So it was deemed necessary to leave her in the open until such a time as we knew who she was working for and why she was here."

Pyrrha glared at the Marine for a moment more before turning to Goodwitch. "Why don't more people know about this?"

The teacher nodded. "From what we understand, it used to be common knowledge."

Pyrrha was obviously not expecting that answer. "Excuse me?"

Qrow pulled out his flask. "How do you think legends and fairy tales get started? Even the craziest ones come from somewhere." He took a long pull.

"Our group was founded in order to protect both mankind and the Maidens. Those hungry for power hunted them with the hope of inheriting their strength," Goodwitch continued.

Qrow finished emptying his flask. "And as you can imagine, the ones that succeeded weren't exactly the ones you'd want to have unimaginable power."

Ironwood stepped forward. "And so our brotherhood chose to remove the Maidens from the public eye, allowing their existence to fade away into legend."

"The things we're telling you go against hundreds of years of human history and religion."

"No one would want to believe us. It would cause an uproar."

Ozpin spoke up. "It would cause panic. And we all know what that would bring to clawing at our Kingdom's walls. Which is why we would like to..."

Pyrrha nodded sharply. "I'll do it." Ozpin looked up, visibly surprised. "If you believe that this will help humanity, then I will become your Fall Maiden." The others turned to look at each other, suddenly wary. "That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

Ozpin moved forward to stand next to her. "It is, but I'm afraid it's not that simple. Given Amber's condition, you won't be able to inherit her power naturally. However, General Ironwood believes he has a solution."

Ironwood gestured at the machines behind him. "For the past few years, Atlas has been studying Aura from a more scientific standpoint; how it works, what's it made of, how it can be used. We've made... significant strides. And we believe we've found a way to capture it."

"Capture it and cram it into something else," Qrow interrupted. "Or in your case ..."

Pyrrha was horrified. "That's..."

"Classified."

"... wrong!"

Goodwitch glared at Ironwood. "Some of us agree with you." Behind her Jäger nodded his head. "But desperate times call for desperate measures."

Ironwood looked at Goodwitch as he continued. "And these are indeed desperate times. We can't transfer Amber's power to you, but we can give you what those powers are bound to."

"... Her Aura," Pyrrha breathed.

"Her life would become intertwined with yours. The question is..."

"We don't know what it is going to do to you. I have my own opinions, which I am more than willing to discuss with you, but now is not the time," Jäger supplied.

Ozpin spoke as Pyrrha began to fully understand the dangers she might face. "You have an important decision before you, Miss Nikos. There's no guarantee this transfer will work. And there's no telling if you will be the same person if it does. I advise you to take time on this matter. But understand that before the Vytal Festival is over, we will need your answer."

Pyrrha didn't respond, instead placing her hand on the glass separating the maiden from her potential replacement. In the glass, her face was superimposed onto the scarred face of the dying girl. Behind her, Ozpin gave one final warning.

"The assailant that attacked the Fall Maiden has made their first move. We are trying to mitigate everything she can do by any means. But there's no telling when their next move will be."


	23. Chapter 19

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

 **A/N: So, things are starting to heat up as we make our way to the end of season 3.**

 _ **KyranKandosa and Tophatguy:**_ **While I had considered using something along those lines (AP mines or M134 turrets) the fact is, Jäger is not supplying any of his weapons to the school for the defense. Unfortunately, Cinder has plot immunity, so while I may injure her, she has to survive. For now. Now, onto the chapter**

Amity Coliseum

Immediately after Pyrrha had her understanding of the world flipped upside down, she was back in Amity Coliseum for the singles round. Behind her, the PA system rang with Professor Port's voice. "Barty, why don't you explain the rules?"

"Ah, it's quite simple, Peter. Instead of a bracket system, each round of the finals will be randomly determined immediately before the match takes place!"

"Much like any good hunt, there will be zero time to prepare!"

"Ah, yes, yes! Now, let's see who our first match will be!" Oobleck finished.

The roulette wheels spun before settling on two people. "Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black!"

From his perch, Jager watched Cinder, still smiling, get up from her place and begin walking out, eyes on the battlefield.

"Would all other combatants please leave the stage!"

The remaining combatants did so, and Yang started walking up to Mercury in the middle as the floor around them opened once more. A ring of spotlights rose up to automatically fix their lights on the remaining two.

"You better not go easy on me."

Mercury laughed darkly. "You wish."

Both brawlers faced the crowds one last time, then slowly started advancing on each other, arms raised defensively until their hands almost touched, as the final countdown commenced.

"Three! Two! One! Begin!"

Immediately, Yang threw a punch, and Mercury spun his foot to meet it, creating a shockwave between the weapons that launched him back. He ran to close the distance quickly and aimed at Yang's feet with his boot, but she leapt over it and fired off a shot from Ember Celica that was avoided. The two fought fist-to-fist for a moment, Yang getting in a fiery blast on her opponent at the cost of him also landing a blow on her. She falls back on her feet when Mercury shoots himself into the air to get farther away from her, looking up and smiling. The fight went back and forth, with neither fighter managing to gain an advantage for several minutes. At one point, Yang had blown Mercury off the stage, only for him to recover and launch himself back into the arena. Then, switching tactics, Mercury started shooting his foot out in every direction, each kick into the air accompanied by a silvery blast that were barely even aimed at Yang. She dodged each one coming her way and gets in close through the circling barrage of shots, fighting with their fists again until Mercury kicks her into the air and knocks her right back to the ground, followed by the dozens of swirling shots that now converge right on to Yang.

When the blasts stop coming down on his opponent, Mercury gets up from his crouch and grins to himself, dusting off his outfit and seeming as happy as can be until the smoke from behind him erupts into flames. His momentary shock turns into another smile as he turns around to see the red-eyed Yang slam her knuckles together and come at him. Screaming, she lands a punch that sends him back, and she rushes up avoiding each kick and even taking one with no effect to pound at him with an unrelenting bombardment of left-right blows. He has enough time to let out a pained groan before she hits him in the stomach, his Aura sparkling up to try and defend him from the last hit to the face by the upset blonde. He lands on his back as the buzzer sounds over the roars of the audience.

"What a way to kick off the finals!" Port cried.

"Yang Xiao Long wins!"

As the crowd's applause tumbled through the arena, Jäger kept a silent watch while the stage descended. Then, in an instant, everything shifted.

There was a flurry of movement, and then Mercury was on the ground, clutching an apparently broken leg to his chest. "My leg, MY LEG!"

A pair of Atlesian soldiers with several Knights surrounded Yang. "Yang Xiao Long, stand down!"

Yang didn't understand. "What!? Why!?"

Emerald rushed over to comfort her teammate.

Mercury continued crying hysterically. "Why'd she do that!? WHY'D SHE ATTACK ME!?"

—Line Break—

Beacon

At Beacon, Jäger and Ironwood were all gathered in Team RWBY's dorm room with the team.

"I'm sorry, but you've left us with no choice," Ironwood stated. Jäger stood silently by the door, still geared up with his rifle slung over one shoulder.

"But he attacked me!"

Ironwood was pacing the room. "Video footage and millions of viewers say otherwise.

Weiss was quick to defend her teammate. "But Yang would never do that!"

"You all seem like good students, and the staff here at Beacon are fully aware that you would never lash out the way you did... under normal circumstances. What I believe and hope this to be is nothing more than the result of stress and adrenaline. When you're out on the battlefield, your judgment can become clouded in an instant. Sometimes you see things that simply aren't there. Even after the fight is past..." Behind him, Jäger let out a dark chuckle.

Yang continued to try and defend herself. "But I wasn't-"

Ironwood finally snapped. "That's ENOUGH!" The room fell silent, and he continued. "The sad truth is, whether it was an accident or an assault, it doesn't matter. The world saw you attack an innocent student. They've already drawn their own conclusions. And it's my job to inform you that... you are disqualified."

With that, the two left the room, leaving RWBY on their own. As they headed for Ozpin's office, Jäger spoke.

"You do realize that she has a point?" Ironwood looked questioningly at him, before gesturing to continue. "Firstly, Mercury has at least one prosthetic leg, I proved that beyond a doubt. So, if it was his prosthetic that was hit, Yang should not be DQ'd, seeing as she didn't actually hurt him. But more importantly is what she said." Here he paused to gather his thoughts. "Twice now, we have had competitors see something that no one else did."

"Twice," Ironwood questioned.

"Coco Adel swore that she saw her teammate in the Forest immediately prior to his elimination in the geyser field. To the best of my knowledge, there is no semblance that allows one to bilocate. There are, however, semblances that can alter one's perception, either through interfering with their senses themselves or through projection so to speak. It is plausible enough to bear looking into."

Beside him, Ironwood nodded. "You make a good point. We can't reverse the disqualification, but I will look into the possibility of a semblance being used by someone in the crowd or by one of the competitors to alter her perceptions."

Jäger bowed his head. "That is all I ask." With that, he peeled off, heading back to his dorm.

—Line Break—

Beacon

Jäger was returning from a run when he came across them. Beside the dining hall were Jaune and Pyrrha, clearly talking about something important, going by the way Pyrrha was hugging herself with her back to Jaune. As he got closer, still unnoticed, he began to hear what them.

"I've always felt as though I was destined to become a Huntress - to protect the world..." Pyrrha sighed. "And it's become increasingly clear to me that my feelings were right. But I don't know if I can do it."

Jaune tried to answer. "Of course you can. The Pyrrha Nikos I know would never back down from a challenge. And if you really believe it's your destiny to save the world you can't let anything stand in your way."

Around the corner, Jäger closed his eyes, realizing what the two were discussing, even if Jaune didn't. And he had just given the wrong answer. Pyrrha began to sob. Before Jäger could move in, however, Pyrrha had thrown Jaune into one of the columns and moved to flee.

"Nikos, STOP," he roared, moving around the corner. She did. Jäger looked at Jaune. "Mr. Arc, if you would be so kind as to return to your dorm, you have my word that I will bring your teammate there as soon as she and I are done here." Jaune looked at Jäger and slowly nodded before getting up and walking off. Once he was out of earshot, Jäger turned to Pyrrha, only to find her standing in front of him with her aura swirling around her. He reacted instantly. Drawing his pistol, Jäger threw himself to the side, coming up on one knee with his pistol aimed at Pyrrha. "Pyrrha, stand down now. I don't want to hurt you."

Pyrrha looked down at her hands and visibly deflated. As her aura faded, Jäger, still cautious, holstered his pistol. He walked up to the now sobbing Spartan. "Nikos. Get a hold of yourself." She ignored him. He sighed, looked up at the sky, and then slapped Pyrrha. The completely unexpected strike shocked her into silence. "Do I have your attention now?" She nodded. "Good. Walk with me." Still silent, she followed him down the pathway, away from the dining hall. Jäger's hands slid into his pockets as he looked skyward. "I know what you were talking with Jaune about. And I understand needing someone else to talk to. But you have to understand that there is more at risk here than just one person. Despite how things have looked, I have always done my best to support you." He halted, and turned to face slowly calming girl. "First, there is something you need to understand about your semblance."

"My semblance? What about it?"

"It is without a doubt the most lethal semblance I have ever witnessed." Pyrrha's eyes widened in disbelief. "By influencing polarity, you can deal untold damage to someone internally, which is why I reacted the way I did when you started to lose control. If your semblance hadn't targeted Jaune's armor, there is every chance you would have killed him, in a myriad of ways. You could have pulled all the blood from his brain, or torn internal organs by forcing the blood away from you or…" he trailed off seeing that the Spartan was openmouthed in horror. "You get the point. What I am trying to say is that you cannot lose control of your semblance. At all. Which plays into my next point." He fell silent for a moment. "Not everything is as it seems with the tournament. Ironwood is currently looking into the possibility of one of the competitors, or someone in the crowd, using their semblance to alter the perceptions of the fighters. It would explain why Coco and Yang both said they saw things that no one else saw. So, if you see something that seems out of the ordinary, for the love of God, don't do anything drastic." He stared into her eyes, deadly serious. "You need to stop reacting and start being proactive. If you allow your enemy to dictate the pace, you cede all momentum to them."

Pyrrha nodded shakily. "I won't. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go see my team."

—Line Break—

Amity Coliseum

Across the arena grounds, Penny faced Pyrrha. Jäger stood above them, in his position in the stands, eye glued to his scope. Things were about to come to a head.

 **A quick A/N for those who haven't already read the chapter. There either is currently, or is going to be, a poll on my profile on whether or not Penny ought to be saved. As y'all can see, I have set things up so that Penny** _ **could**_ **survive, in any number of ways. Anyway, y'all let me know. – Alpah**


	24. Chapter 20

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

 **A/N: Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now one chapter away from the finale of Season 3. Apologies for the separation between chapters, but work kicked in, and 40 hours of manual labor a week doesn't leave me much time for writing.**

Beacon

Amity Coliseum

Jäger, again, did not watch the fight from the stands. Rather, he retook his position near a door leading into the service corridors. From there, he could view the entirety of the stadium, except for the seats directly below him. Rather than focus all of his attention on the fight, Jäger was continually scanning the crowd through the 10x Unertl scope atop his M40A5.

—Line Break—

Down in the arena of Amity Colosseum, Pyrrha was still looking distracted while Penny politely saluted her opponent.

"Sal-u-tations, Pyrrha Nikos! It's an honor to finally meet you!"

Pyrrha didn't respond, only clenching her hands as she attempted to muster some determination.

Penny didn't notice Pyrrha's distraction. "This is going to be so much fun!"

—Line Break—

Directly across from Jäger, but in the corridors, Ruby Rose was facing down an up-and-standing Mercury Black, who was smugly smiling at the younger girl's confusion.

"Mercury, what are you doing? You were hurt! Why..." her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What's going on?" she received no answer. "Fine. If you're not going to tell me..." she attempted to move around him, but he blocked her path, then does it again when she sidestepped.

Oobleck voice echoing over the announcement system distracted Ruby. "Fighters, are you ready?

Mercury smirked.

—Line Break—

Penny beamed widely in anticipation, but Pyrrha was still looking around somewhat dazedly, though she managed a small scowl at her opponent.

"3, 2, 1..." Oobleck leant forward. "BEGIN!"

Suddenly, Penny was surrounded by her floating swords, gesturing them around to her commands before launching a volley of them at Pyrrha, who ran towards them and leapt though the aimed blades. The swords flew into the air until they turned around and came back to the fight.

—Line Break—

Mercury looked back at Ruby. "Showtime."

He moved forward, blocking her path with arms outstretched. Panicked, she activated her semblance, dissolving into a swirl of rose petals that rocketed towards Mercury. Unfortunately, he reacted swiftly, firing his boots into the swarm and knocking her to the ground. He advanced on her just as she got out her Scroll, but before she could push the button to call for help, a bullet shatters the device into several shards.

Mercury lowered his leg from its kick. "Let's just keep this between us friends."

—Line Break—

Pyrrha, now having returned the shield to her back, twirled her javelin to block each sword swipe of Penny's, dropping her weapon when she was forced to somersault away from a slash, before magnetically returning it to her hand as Penny readied another wave of blades.

"My word! What a tremendous display by Miss Polendina!" Port cried.

Fully glowering, Pyrrha rushed forward and jumped on an incoming sword, swinging down on Penny, only to have her assault halted by a collection of blades. Though she leapt away from the retaliatory slice, Penny retreated as well. She tried to defend against the multitude of swords with the length of her weapon, but was forced back regardless, forcing her to roll the shield from her back onto her arm with her polarity.

Despite the cheers surrounding her, Pyrrha wasn't doing well, and looked down to see her Semblance's black energy bend the weapons in her hands unnaturally for a split second.

—Line Break—

Ruby attempted to block a kick from Mercury with her arms, but failed, getting a face-full of boot. She managed to duck under his next attack and leapt over his leg, spiraling past him, this time getting much father down the corridor. She kicked off of the wall and fell to the ground, pumping her arms as she ran for the exit.

—Line Break—

Pyrrha spun wildly as she deflected and dodged each sword, until she got close enough to Penny to deliver a few slashes with the spear, who went flying back as Pyrrha batted aside the blades called to their wielder's aid. Penny slid to a stop and made a new series of motions, the weapons folding up until she was circled by several laser rifles, a few of which opened fire on the approaching champion. Pyrrha avoided the blasts and fought off the remaining swords with her xiphos until she again slid into position to charge at Penny and knock her back. Pyrrha straightened with a victorious grin that disappeared as she was overcome with dizziness.

Pyrrha cursed as another sword flew at her. She continued to dodge, looking for an opening in the girl's defense. Setting herself, she prepared to charge. Penny saw the movement and pulled her swords behind herself into one, before dividing them out again.

Pyrrha's eyes widened in horror. The one sword had multiplied into thousands, creating a storm of metal she could not hope to avoid. As the swords flew at her, she slammed her foot into the ground with a cry, sending all metal in the area flying away from her at high speed with her semblance. She had, however, remembered Jäger's advice, and had thus directed the weapons to the side, rather than directly at her opponent.

Penny's eyes widened in terror as she felt the cords connecting her swords together wrap around her body. The thin, industrial strength cables, sped on their way by Pyrrha's semblance, wrapped around her left arm, denting the metal. With an ear-rending shriek, Penny's arm parted from her torso.

Above the arena, Ruby fell to her knees, seeing her friend get maimed before her.

—Line Break—

Seeing a flash of movement across from him, Jäger pivoted upwards, his scope centering on the kneeling form of Ruby. Then, behind her, Mercury appeared in the doorway.

Jäger made a split second decision. Centering his crosshairs upon Mercury's smirking face, time slowed to the space of heartbeats. Curling his finger around the trigger, Jäger took a single breath, and blew half of it out. Gently pressing upon the thin piece of metal, the trigger broke at three and half pounds. The hammer flew forward, slamming into the firing pin, which ignited the primer. The moly-coated, match grade boat-tailed hollow point exited the barrel at 777 meters per second and crossed the intervening distance in an instant. With hardly any of its kinetic energy spent, the round slammed into the bridge of Mercury's nose, the hollow point mushrooming out inside his head, tearing through his brain. Mercury dropped like a puppet with its strings cut as the back of his head splattered across the wall behind him.

Screams erupted throughout the arena. Still operating on ingrained instincts, Jäger stood and collapsed his bipod.

—Line Break—

Ruby, heard the crack and turned to see Mercury hit the floor with the wall behind him coated in scarlet. Turning back, she saw Jäger stand up on the other side of the arena, staring as he casually collapsed his bipod and went to move. He had just killed a person without even blinking, almost as if he was a machine. A realization struck her. "His nickname," she whispered. "It's how he deals with it. He views the entire thing as a hunt, only one with more dangerous prey than Grimm."

—Line Break—

Before Jäger could begin moving, Cinder's voice came over the PA system. "Is this the type of academy we wish to entrust our kingdom to? One, which trains children to be ruthless killers? Our kingdoms are ruled by men who wield enormous power, and the academies are led by headmasters who might as well lead an army. One even had the audacity to do both." In the stands, General Ironwood slammed both hands into the railing, his right hand denting the metal.

"Peace is a fragile thing, and at the moment it is being handled by men with metal gloves. I am from Mistral, and I assure you, the situation there is equally undesirable. But honestly? I'm not sure who is right and who is wrong. All I know is that our kingdoms are at the brink of war, and when the first shots are fired, I ask you. Who do you think you can trust?"

Klaxons began blaring, and an automated voice rang out. "Warning: Incoming Grimm Attack, Level 9. Please seek shelter immediately." A Nevermore landed on the safety barrier and began attacking it.

Jäger leaned against the railing, not knowing that his Scroll had been slaved to the PA system by Cinder. Thus, everyone heard what he said next.

"And so it begins" he muttered. Then, with an oddly formal accent and musical lilt, he spoke. "Lo, there do I see my father. Lo, there do I see my mother and my brothers and my sisters. Lo, there do I see the line of my people back to the beginning. Lo, they do call to me. They bid me to take my place among them in the halls of Valhalla." Here his voice began to rise, until he ended with a fearsome howl. "Where the brave shall live forever, where thine enemies have been vanquished! Nor shall we mourn but REJOICE for those that have died THE GLORIOUS DEATH!"

Realizing he was connected to the loud speakers, he decided to take advantage of that. He began speaking as he ran towards the lower levels of the arena.

"Hunters and Huntresses. Vale and Beacon are under attack. The Grimm and the White Fang have come. The time to practice is over! No more sparring to sharpen one's skills. Call in your lockers, grab your weapons, for tonight we fight! We fight until we have not one more bead of sweat, until we have not even an ounce of strength, until the streets are painted red with either our blood or the blood of our enemies! Defeat is not an option here, for tonight we save a Kingdom!"

Jäger partially activated his semblance and vaulted down into the arena to stand directly in front of the still kneeling Pyrrha and now one-armed Penny, beneath the Nevermore that was attacking the safety barrier. As the barrier failed, his lockers impacted around him, opening to reveal his infamous tactical gear and weapons. Swooping down in anticipation of an easy meal, the Nevermore, beak open in a scream, was met with an 83mm Novel Explosive round from his SMAW. The thermobaric explosion completely annihilated the creature's head, raining bits of charred flesh around him even as the Grimm dissolved into nothingness.

Around the pair, locker after locker impacted, as trainees called for their weapons. Without hesitation, Jäger flitted from locker to locker, selecting gear and weapons with the practiced eye of a master. Slamming the final door shut, he turned to face the assembled hunters. "Let's move," he said, and that was all that was needed.

—Line Break—

Outside the Coliseum stands, civilians were rapidly loading into transports for evacuation. As the last one lifted off, a White Fang Bullhead landed, disgorging several Grimm, the most dangerous being an Alpha Beowulf. Spotting the threat as it tore through two of his Knights, Ironwood turned and charged the Beowulf, going into a slide beneath it before it decapitated him. Turning, he made to fire his pistol when a trio of shots rang out, all impacting on the creature's facemask. Turning, the General saw Jäger jogging up, face covered by his grinning skull mask, followed by the Hunters. The Marine fixed the general with a piercing stare. "We are hunters. We do not play with our prey, we kill it." He turned to the others. "The same thing goes for all of you. This is not a training match or a spar. This is now a battlefield, and there is no place for mercy. If you have the chance for a kill, take it. If you hesitate, you will die. I'd much rather we all make it through the night alive."

Ironwood moved out from behind Jäger. "As much as I disagree with Mr. Kristiansen's use of me as an example, he is correct. Right now, Grimm are crawling all over the city. The White Fang's invaded Beacon, and to make matters worse, some...vagabond has seized one of my ships. Until we regain command, the skies are out of our control. So I'm…" Ironwood's impromptu speech was interrupted by a three round burst from Jäger's MCX, aimed at a nearing Creep. "…going to take it back."

Jaune looked at Ironwood. "What should we do?"

Jäger laughed, startling all around him, including Ironwood. It was the dark, almost crazed laugh of one of the damned, a comparison only heightened by the skull that concealed all but his eyes. "We do the only thing we can. We fight. We fight well, and die well if necessary, but we fight. And woe betide our enemies." He looked at Ironwood. "You need to get moving. I'll organize things here." Ironwood looked at him intensely before nodding and running off.

Jäger turned back to the combined students, unconsciously switching back into command mode. While the unit he was leading was not up to the same level of the men he had been with previously, he would make due. "Listen up. I am organizing you into fireteams. They are not debatable. Work together. Nora, you're with CVFY, Ren you're with ARBN." He raised his hand to forestall their questions. "Jaune and Pyrrha are coming to me to see if we can find Ozpin. Now, Penny, Flynt, and Neon, y'all are with SSSN. Penny, you are only 75% combat capable, so if a threat is beyond your capabilities, you are to fall back and let the others deal with it. Weiss and Blake, find Yang. Ruby, you are free to move as you wish, just stay in contact. Now let's move." As the others boarded the transport, Jäger looked down at his scroll and opened an encrypted communications channel. Once the flashing light switched to green, he gave a verbal code word followed by a numerical sequence. Back at his home, several things happened. First, the windows and door hermetically sealed themselves against all entry, making the building nearly impenetrable. Secondly, the computer began tracking his position via scroll, while all the lockers were targeted at those coordinates, ready to be called on in an instant. Finally, small red lights flashed on all across the school and city, and began softly blinking.


	25. Chapter 21

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

Inside the transport, the hunters sat in silence, the quiet only broken by the sound of metal meeting metal as Jäger systematically disassembled and reassembled each of his weapons. Finally, the silence was broken by Jaune and Ruby.

"How can you be so calm," they asked at the same time, then looked at each other before Ruby continued.

"I know you killed Mercury, Jäger, I saw the body. But then here you sit, calm as can be as if nothing happened. I just want to know how you can do it. I already know why; Mercury was working with the people who arranged this and tried to get Pyrrha to kill Penny." Hearing this Pyrrha let out a strangled sob. "But I want to know how."

Jäger stood, towering over the girl. "Because it is easy and I am used to it." Jaune opened his mouth, indignation written across his face, but Jäger raised a hand to forestall him. "I killed my first man at 18. With this gun in fact." He patted the pistol at his side. "Three men broke into my family's house early one morning, and my father was out of town on business. They meant harm to me and my family so I acted accordingly. They left in body bags, and I didn't." He shrugged. "After I joined the military it became a fact of life. 9 months out of the year I was in place were people were trying to kill me with such regularity that it became boring. When you spend as much of your adult life as I have staring death in the face and living to tell the tale, speeding others on their way to death no longer has the same meaning as it once did. Death and I are old friends, and while I will go to my grave without regrets, I will not go quietly." He eyed the rest of the airship. "That is something all of you need to recognize. You will come close to death tonight, and you will send others to death. But you must not hesitate. Grimm are easy, you all are used to that, but you cannot hesitate if you are fighting White Fang. If you falter, remember this. They are the ones who released the Grimm into this city, and they are the ones who summoned them here. They are nothing more than Grimm in human form. Kill them as if they were Grimm and more of you will live tonight."

Blake stood. "You are no better than them if you think that!"

He turned to face the bristling cat Faunus. "I did not bring creatures that require years of specialized training into a city filled with civilians. They are terrorists, nothing more, nothing less. And as such I will grant them the mercy that they deserve, the mercy of a swift death." He sighed. "You all are simultaneously repulsed and intrigued by me, I can see it in your eyes. Repulsed by the fact that I kill so easily and without remorse, and intrigued by the same. What it comes down to is this. Weak men sleep safely in their beds knowing that rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. I am the rough man. I will wreck no end of havoc on those who threaten the weak and the innocent, and when you decided to become hunters you chose the same. Time to face your choice." He looked out the window. "Three minutes to touch down. Everyone arm up and check your weapons. We are going to hit them as hard and fast as we can." He looked around the room, silently categorizing each hunter in the room. "Our primary objective is securing Beacon and clearing it of Grimm. With that in mind, I want the primarily ranged fighters to stay towards the back and provide overwatch. Your job is to eliminate threats to the others before they get to the others. Everybody else, your job is to push forward and clear the initial courtyard of Grimm before setting up in defensive positions. If we can hold the LZ we can eventually get reinforcements." He turned. "Jaune, Pyrrha, you two are with me. Stay on my six and keep your heads on a swivel. Ruby…" as he started to speak, she suddenly turned and sprinted for the ramp, launching herself off the back end of the airship. He sighed. "Well then." His eyes sharpened as he glanced around again. "Blake, Weiss, Nora and Ren, go find Yang and get back to the LZ. Everyone else, same groups as before." He glared across the airship. "I do not give a fuck what you think of me. I am going to do my damnedest to keep all of you alive, and if you do what I say, that will make things so much easier." The ship shuddered. "Landing sequence initiated. Lock and load, it's gonna be a hot one."

—Line Break—

At the Bullhead landing zone, the single craft slowly came to a stop before lowering the ramp. The instant the ramp touched down, Jäger came charging down, MCX firing in bursts as he moved from cover to cover. Behind him, the assembled hunters followed, dust rounds arcing across the courtyards as they moved to take up positions. "Jaune, Pyrrha, on me. We need to get to Ozpin." As the three began sweeping through Beacon, clearing out any Grimm they came across, Jäger spoke into the microphone resting on his collar. "M249. Immediate deployment. 10 yards ahead current location." He turned to Pyrrha and Jaune. "Stay here." He moved forward, weapons at the ready as a small locker slammed into the ground in front of him. Letting his MCX fall against his chest carrier, he hefted the machine gun in his right hand while he slipped two belts of ammunition into his carrier. "Let's go," was all he said as he slammed the locker shut.

—Line Break—

Jaune, Pyrrha, Jäger and Ozpin rode down the elevator to the vault in near silence, broken only by the quiet clinking of Jäger's equipment. Halfway down, he turned to Ozpin.

"I'm prepping the charges the minute we get to the bottom."

Ozpin frowned lightly. "I really don't think that that is necessary James."

Jäger glared at him. "We are about to get into a fight with someone who has partial Maiden abilities, and you have to work on the transfer. Arc is by no means capable enough to fight her, and Pyrrha will be indisposed. I want every possible advantage that could tip the scales in my favor. I'm arming the charges. The detonator will be tied to your heartbeat as well as a distance sensor. If either one trips, the charges will detonate and the vault will collapse, hopefully trapping her beneath the rubble."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow, causing Jäger sighed. "Yes, I know its unlikely, especially given that she would have full capabilities, but I can hope."

Jaune spoke up from where he stood behind Pyrrha as the doors opened and they began hurrying down the corridor. "What is this place? Why are we here?"

It was Pyrrha who answered. "It's…a type of vault."

The blond knight looked betrayed. "You've been here before? What would the school need to hide?"

"It's not what needed to be hid you idiot, but what needed to be protected. Now shut your mouth, you are witnessing things you cannot being to understand," Jäger snarled. He turned to Ozpin. "I'm starting the charges." With that he moved over to a panel on the side of the room and began keying in an authorization code.

Finally seeing the Aura transfer machine, Jaune stopped in his tracks, gazing wide-eyed at the strange contraption and the comatose girl inside.

"What? Who?"

Pyrrha tried to explain. "Jaune..."

Ozpin interrupted. "Pyrrha! Get to the pods!"

Pyrrha looked at Jaune, then ran to the second pod.

"Mister Arc, if you'd like to help, you can stand guard here."

Jaune uncertainly looked at the two, then turned around and got into a guarding stance.

"What do we do now?"

Ozpinbegan on the machine's hologram keyboard. "We, do nothing."

"That's not entirely correct Ozpin," Jäger called. "I'm trying to make sure we survive, you are setting up the transfer, Jaune is trying to look like he is useful." He turned to Pyrrha. "But he is right. You have a decision to make Pyrrha, and it will change who we continue to do things." To underscore his words, the second pod cracked open. "We can still evacuate Amber out of here using the escape route, and at this point, I'd give myself even odds against Cinder." His scroll beeped and he looked at it. "Who is currently inbound." He looked up and locked eyes on Pyrrha. "It's your choice and no one else's."

Pyrrha looked at the pod, then at Jaune, then back to Jäger, hesitating. Her expression changed from uncertainty to sadness, and she wiped a tear from her eye, before looking back to Jaune. She then climbed into the pod without a word, which closed over her.

—Line Break—

In the Beacon courtyard, the students stand prepared to fight the Atlesian Paladin that was charging toward them. As it ran, electricity arced across it and it suddenly powered down, collapsing and sliding to a stop in front of them.

Sun stood first. "Hm. That went better than expected."

Weiss doubled over, exhaustedly leaning on Myrtenaster to keep herself standing.

Yang came sprinting into the courtyard followed by Ren and Nora. "Weiss! You're okay! Have you heard from Ruby?"

Weiss shook her head.

"What about Blake?"

"She went after an Alpha..." She said as she pointed in the direction that Blake ran, "and some members of the White Fang."

"You look for Ruby. I'll meet up with Blake."

Ren spoke up. "Nora, you go with Yang, I'll stay with Weiss. Jäger was right, we can't risk splitting up."

Yang scowled at the mention of the Marine, but hurried off in the direction that Weiss pointed with Nora following closely behind. Weiss weakly gave a thumbs up.

—Line Break—

Ozpin stood before the control panel. "Are you ready?"

From inside the pod, Pyrrha looked at him and slowly nodded.

Ozpin looked almost sick with himself, as the enormity of what he was about to do began to hit him. "I... I need to hear you say it."

"Yes," was all she said as she laid her head back.

Ozpin nodded. "Thank you, Miss Nikos."

He pressed a few more buttons on the screen, and Amber's pod raised up. Inside, she began glowing orange, and her eyelids lightly fluttered. The orange glow traveled along the pipes connecting the two pods - first up to the ceiling, then down to Pyrrha's pod. An orange glow surrounded Pyrrha, who began screaming out in agony.

Jaune spun around in horror. "Pyrrha!"

He ran over to Pyrrha's pod, looking back and forth at each pod, panicking as he tried to understand what was going on. Ozpin looked away.

"I'm... so sorry."

Suddenly, an arrow arced down the corridor and pierced the glass of Amber's pod, burying the head into her in the chest. Amber gasped, and her eyes flared open, before slowly closing again, while the machine began beeping an alarm. Ozpin and Jaune turned around to see Cinder standing halfway down the corridor from them, an obsidian bow in her hand. She lowered the bow, a tiny smirk creeping across her face. As Amber struggled to breathe, Jäger spun out around the corner he had been concealed by, M249 spitting fire down the corridor. Panicked, Cinder dodged backwards, rolling under the stream of lead. Behind him, Amber's body went limp as her heart finally gave out. The green flames that lit the torches throughout the vault suddenly were suddenly snuffed out. As the orange glow of Amber's semblance and aura faded from Pyrrha, the Spartan frantically beat her fists against the glass of her pod. The glow burst out of Amber, shattering the glass in its way, and flew down the corridor to Cinder. The murderer glowed and began floating, gaining long trails of flame around her eyes, while the orange energy swirled around her. Jäger was forced to cease fire as, not realizing what they were facing, Jaune raised his sword and charged towards Cinder.

Ozpin could only yell at Jaune, who ignored his warning. "Stay back!"

Callously, Cinder cast a large fireball at Jaune, who blocked it with his shield but was blasted backwards, landing on his back before Pyrrha's pod.

Seeing her partner in true danger, Pyrrha used her Semblance to rip the pod's door off its hinges, and threw it at Cinder, to no avail. Slowly, the new Fall maiden descended to the ground. Even as she touched down, Pyrrha called her weapons to her using her semblance and charged the woman. She was stopped short by Ozpin.

"Take Jaune and get out of here! Find Glynda! Ironwood! Qrow! Bring them here right away! The tower cannot fall!"

Pyrrha still failed to truly realize the enormity of the situation. "But I can help."

Jäger stalked forward to stand next to Ozpin, efficiently stripping weapons from his harness. "You'll only get in the way." He handed her his guns. "Put these in the locker outside the doors. Ozpin and I will deal with this upstart." In front of him, Cinder's lips pulled back in a snarl of rage at the casual dismissal.

Pyrrha hesitated for a moment but obeyed Ozpin, grabbing Jaune with her free hand and running away. As she ran, Cinder finished her descent to the floor and watched them leave, while the glow, the swirling energy, and the flames around her eyes all disappeared. She turned her attention back to Ozpin and Jäger, her eyes still glowing for a moment.

As Pyrrha ran she heard Cinder behind her. "This whole time... right beneath our feet. She was right about you. Such arrogance."

—Line Break—

Out front of Beacon Tower, Jaune and Pyrrha sprint out the front door.

Jaune was panicking. "Okay, I think I have Glynda's number." He walked away, looking at his Scroll. "Oh, where is it?"

Behind him, Pyrrha turned and silently stared at Beacon Tower. Jaune's voice soon broke her concentration.

"Pyrrha? What was all of that?"

She turned to look at him, but had barely opened her mouth before she was interrupted by a body flying out of the elevator to land on the steps of the tower, followed by a massive explosion from beneath their feet. As they ran to the body and found Jäger unconscious, Cinder used her fire to fly up through the elevator shaft. The two teens stared at the tower in surprise.

"But... Ozpin..." was all Jaune could say.

Pyrrha's voice hardened. "There's no time." She shook her head, then looked at Jaune. "Go. Get to Vale and call for help."

Jaune was visibly confused. "Huh? What are you gonna do?"

She turned her head to stare up at the top of Beacon Tower. Seeing where she was looking, Jaune realized what she planned.

"No... no, Pyrrha, you can't. You saw how powerful she is! Pyrrha, I won't let you do-" She silenced him with a kiss, before pulling away, smiling sadly.

"I'm sorry." Jaune then found himself propelled backwards into an empty locker, which she slammed shut with her semblance.

Jaune was horrified. "Hey! Wait! Stop, stop! Pyrrha, please don't do this!"

Despite his begging, she slowly input the code into the locker, sending it away from Beacon. Stelling herself, she began walking towards the entrance, only to stop short as Jäger's hand wrapped around her ankle.

"You're not going anywhere," came the growling voice, as he stood up and stalked towards his locker.

"Who's going to fight her then? You?"

"Now is not the time to get sarcastic with me Nikos. She kicked my ass and has presumably killed Ozpin. Even if the charges went off." He snorted in dark amusement. "This time I'll be taking her seriously. "His neck cracked as he twisted to look at her. "And I've fought through worse." He slammed the locker shut. "Now, what are the chances you will actually leave if I tell you to?"

"None."

He sighed. "Fantastic. Then here's what's going to happen. I installed an emergency ascent system onto the elevator, but it's slow. You are going to use your semblance to speed things up. Once we hit the top of the tower, I'm out the doors first. Stay out of my line of fire. And let's hope I'm still as lucky as I was in Iraq and Syria."

—Line Break—

Atop the tower, Ozpin's office filled with smoke as Cinder flew up the elevator shaft and walked to the window. As if sensing her presence, the Dragon climbed up to the top, peering at her through the window, and screeches.

"Shhhh," she whispered. "This is your home now."

The Dragon stared at her and uttered a shorter, quieter screech. The new Maiden backed away from the window and held her hand out to the side, focusing on her newfound powers to create a small fireball in her palm. Behind her, the elevator being screeching, causing her to turn around as the fireball dissipated. A few moments later, the sparks came to a stop and the elevator dinged.

—Line Break—

Before the Elevator reaches the top

Inside the elevator, Jäger was muttering to himself.

"Smoke and flash? Ninebanger? Breach charge? Or a flash and frag?"

Pyrrha paused and let the emergency ascent take over. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm trying to decide how to enter the office. Probably a flash and frag. Cut her visibility and balance, then follow that up with a high explosive."

Before he could reach for the equipment, the elevator dinged and the doors opened. Pyrrha didn't hesitate to send her spear flying toward Cinder, who contemptuously dodged it by casually leaning to her right with a smirk on her face.

The spear was immediately followed by Pyrrha's shield, backed by Pyrrha herself, as Jäger's flashbang sailed into the room. Cinder put her arms up, blocking the shield and throwing it aside. While Cinder hovered in the air with the Fall Maiden powers, Pyrrha called her weapons back to her with her polarity, staring down her opponent. Cinder gained a fiery glow around her eyes and went attack Pyrrha, only to be interrupted as Jäger's flashbang finally detonated. He charged into the room through the maelstrom of sound and light, face locked in a rictus of rage as he partially activated his semblance to control the recoil of the M249. Cinder threw her arms and legs out to the sides even before she could see and hear again, forming a fiery shield around her that melted lead rounds before they could impact her. Small burns appeared across her body, but no rounds succeeded in landing the killing blow that Jäger hoped for.

Six small fireballs formed in a circle behind Cinder, and she sent another streak of fire toward Pyrrha, who dove to avoid it. Sweeping her hand to the right, she directed the fire towards Jäger, only to find a cloud of billowing smoke. Snarling, she turned again to Pyrrha, sending a stream of fire the young redhead's way. This time, Pyrrha blocked it with her shield, leaping forwards toward Cinder, powering through the flame. As the fire stops, she spun out from behind her shield, slashing at Cinder's arm with her spear. The blow did not land, as Cinder caught the blade and pulled, turning Pyrrha around. Quickly attacking, Cinder slammed her palm into Pyrrha's stomach, blasted her away.

As Pyrrha smashed into a wall and fell to her hands and knees, a locker slammed through one of the office windows to bury itself into the floor of the office. Jäger burst from the smoke, flame jetting from the barrel of his machine gun as he fired continuously at the unworthy Fall Maiden. As Pyrrha stood back up, her faced hardened as she watched Jäger weave about, as his gun continually spat death. Then the room was filled with silence as the gun clicked empty. Smirking once again, Cinder propelled herself forward with flames jetting from her hands. Before she could attempt to slam into the Marine, Pyrrha leapt into the air above her and wrapped an arm around Cinder's. As Cinder slowed to a stop, Pyrrha positioned her feet on the wall behind her and pushed off, flipping herself over Cinder. The combined momentum allowed the Spartan to flip over and toss Cinder across the floor.

Catlike, Cinder landed on her front and slid, pushing off the floor to get back on her feet. Her smirk became slightly more concerned at the sight that greeted her. As Pyrrha charged forward, shield at the ready, Jäger hefted a MG3 out of the locker, filling the room with the sound of ripping canvas as the modern remaking of Hitler's buzzsaw spat death. The sound disappeared as Pyrrha smashed her shield into Cinder's abdomen, sending her stumbling backwards. Taking the opportunity, Pyrrha struck, hitting Cinder's right hand with the blunt end of her spear, then slashing Cinder's left hand with the spear's blade. She continued the attack, spinning around and slashing across Cinder's abdomen and legs.

Pyrrha spun around to attack again, but Cinder backflipped, kicking Pyrrha up and away. Quickly righting herself, she flipped her spear in her grip, cocked it back, and then threw it toward Cinder while firing the gun mechanism. With a clear line of sight, Jäger opened fire again, trying to force Cinder into the path of the spear. Six fireballs appeared around Cinder again, only to dissipate when she backhanded the spear away. Pyrrha's shield then flew toward her, only to also be hit away.

Following her shield, Pyrrha launched herself toward Cinder and tackled her. Jäger swore as he was forced to fire into the ceiling, rather than risk hitting the girl. The two fought in mid-air until gravity reclaimed dominance and slammed the two into the ground. When the dust settled, Pyrrha had Cinder in a choke hold, and Cinder was barely managing to hold Pyrrha's spear away from her neck. As Jäger tried to find an angle so he could fire on Cinder without hitting Pyrrha, the Dragon flew away, and Cinder's eyes began glowing. Three heads snapped up upon hearing a loud screech coming from outside. Cinder smirked, while Jäger's face hardened and Pyrrha went white with fear. As she set her focus on the Dragon that was flying toward the tower, Cinder finally snapped the spear's melted blade into pieces. Right as the Dragon slammed its wing into the roof of Ozpin's office, Cinder's elbow smashed into Pyrrha's abdomen. The room filled with a green glow as the windows shattered, launching Pyrrha and Jäger across the room. Giant cogs and debris came crashing down into the office, and the CCT's transmitter fell to the ground outside, to smash into pieces.

—Line Break—

Inside the ruins of the Beacon cafeteria, two ideologies clashed as Blake fought her former mentor. "This could've been our day! Can't you see that!?"

Blake shook her head. "I never wanted this! I wanted equality! I wanted peace!" Her attacks were blocked by Taurus who sheathed his sword.

"What you want is impossible!" he backhanded Blake to the ground. "But I understand because all I want is you, Blake." Gambol Shroud was kicked out of her hand before she could fire at the bull faunus. "And as I set out upon this world and deliver the justice mankind so greatly deserves, I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love."

From outside the ruins came Yang's voice. "Blake!"

Yang's voice drew their attention to one of the broken windows. The blonde brawler came into view, still searching for her teammate. "Blake! Where are you!?"

Adam looked at Blake and saw her terrified expression, before returning his gaze to Yang.

"Starting with her." Adam drew his sword and stabbed down into Blake's stomach. Her shriek caught Yang's attention, who turned in time to see Adam stand upright, pulling his sword from Blake's body.

Yang's semblance partially activated. "Get away from her!"

Blake reached towards Adam, begging. "No... please..."

Adam sheathed his sword, smiling. Yang screamed, her eyes turning red and a burst of flame erupting from her as her rage finally activated her semblance fully. She leapt at Adam, drawing her fist back with tears in her eyes. Adam executed a lightning fast quick draw, activating his semblance as his sword cut through the air towards Yang. As she flew through the air past the bull faunus, the lower half of her right arm separated from her. Adam slowly walked toward Yang's unconscious body and swung his sword out to the side, casting blood from its blade. Before he could kill the unconscious Xiao-Long, Nora arrived. Not bothering to announce her appearance, Adam was caught completely by surprise when Magnhild slammed into his side, simultaneously firing the 40mm grenade inside. The blow completely eliminated his aura and sent him flying out of the cafeteria faster than Yang had earlier in the year during the food fight. Without a word, Nora helped Blake up, grabbed Yang and sprinted off towards the LZ.

—Line Break—

Atop Beacon tower, the building looked like a bomb had gone off in Ozpin's office. Trying to recover Pyrrha crawled towards her shield, while Cinder watched on from her position levitating off the floor with flame jetting from her feet. Jäger staggered to his feet off to the side and opened fire once again on the maiden, who snarled and turned to engage him. Looking for a way to distract Cinder, Pyrrha noticed Ozpin's collapsed metal desk and used her polarity to throw it at the corrupt Maiden, knocking her to the floor. Not wasting anytime, she grabbed her shield and rolled across the floor, sitting up on her knees and holding the shield up. With a burst of flame, Cinder threw the now bullet riddled desk off of herself and levitated back into the air.

Pyrrha and Jäger dodged out of the way of two streams of fire that Cinder sent their way and the Spartan attempted to block a third with her shield. She was sent tumbling away when the force was too much, while the heat caused the floor to ignite, forming a wall of flames that separated the combatants from each other. From behind the wall of flame, Pyrrha threw her shield at Cinder, who confidently backhanded it away. Her confindence turned to worry when looked up to see a multitude of the giant cogs floating in the air around her. Using her polarity, Pyrrha summoned her shield to knock Cinder's feet from beneath her and then slammed a cog down on Cinder's abdomen to pin her to the floor. Calling her shield back onto her arm, she then slammed the rest of the cogs together into a pile on top of Cinder. Just as Jäger stepped near the opposite side of the pile of metal, the pile detonated, slamming a cog into him and pinning his unconscious body underneath its weight against one of the remining walls.

—Line Break—

Coming back to consciousness, Jäger struggled to move, pinned as he was beneath the giant cog. Steeling himself, he placed his hands on the cog and strained to move it. Letting his anger fuel him, he let out a roar of the motto of his men. "Death before Dishonor!" With that animalistic shout, Jäger threw the off the cog that had been pinning him, sending it tumbling off the tower. Time slowed to a crawl.

Pyrrha on her knees, arrow through the calf, utterly exhausted, weapons lost or broken.

Cinder, standing above her with arrow drawn back and aimed at her heart.

Ruby, kneeling on the edge, dust and cloak still fluttering around her from her landing.

Jäger reacted instantaneously. Just as Cinder released, his arm came forward, sending the axe that he did not remember drawing hurtling towards her followed by a roar of pure rage. The arrow flashed across the distance and buried itself into Pyrrha's chest. Ruby, seeing this, let out an agonized cry of, "Pyrrha!" Silver light flowed from her eyes as she was surrounded by an ethereal glow. As the world went to greyscale, the axe sliced into the side of Cinder's face, taking her right ear and part of her cheek with it. Her incredulous scream was drowned by the Dragon's roar as Ruby collapsed onto the broken floor of Ozpin's office. Utilizing her powers, Cinder soared off, trailing blood.

Jäger sprinted over to Pyrrha's still form. She had slumped onto her side after being hit, and laid there, gasping for breath.

"Come on, come on, come on," Jäger muttered as he ripped his medkit open. Drawing his Ka-Bar, he sliced the arrow off half an inch above the skin, and immediately covered the wound with a chest seal. Then, as he prepped a decompression needle, he hit the emergency transmit on his Scroll, automatically connecting to all scrolls in the area that could take a call.

"This is Kristiansen. I need a CasEvac from the top of Beacon tower immediately. I have two down, one unconscious, borderline comatose, and another severely wounded." He plunged the needle into Pyrrha's thoracic cavity and opened the valve. This allowed the built up pressure to escape before he closed the valve, sealing the wound for the time being

Ironwood's voice crackled over his scroll. "Jäger, this is the general. Say again?"

"I need a Casualty Evacuation fucking yesterday! Subject is severely wounded, if she doesn't have surgery within 25 minutes, she will to die."

"I've got a Bullhead 3 minutes out."

"Tell those pilots to fucking hurry. And have an ICU Crash Cart ready on the pad, with a surgeon team prepped and ready to go for emergency surgery. Subject took an arrow to the chest, is currently suffering from a punctured aorta and sucking chest wound. I've managed to seal the wound, but her BP is dropping fast. She's at 60/40, and has lost a lot of blood. I'm going to have to start an emergency transfusion soon." He drew a steadying breath. "I'm not fuckin screwing around here Ironwood, we have barely 20 minutes until she dies. If we are lucky."

"Who is it?"

"Pyrrha Nikos."

Jaune's anguished wail could be heard all the way at the top of the Tower.

Jäger slapped himself to not lose focus, the crack audible over the call. "I'll do what I can, but I'm not a medic. Get a team ready and a vehicle here, and make it fuckin quick. Kristiansen out."

As the call disconnected, he feverishly went to work. Drawing a length of rubber tubing and two hollow needles from his kit, he created a makeshift IV line, with himself as the source. Gently, he rolled Pyrrha onto her back, careful to not exacerbate her wound any further. Then, he inserted one needle into the vein at her elbow, watching as the tube filled with blood. Carefully, so as not to spill what was inside, he turned the other needle, placing the point against his own vein.

"Here goes nothing." He looked at her still form, knowing that she was still alive from the slight rise and fall of her chest as she labored to breath. "This better work." Without another second of hesitation, he plunged the needle into his own arm, noting with satisfaction that the flow immediately reversed, sending blood into the wounded Spartan.

He looked down at his scroll, noting the time. Five minutes had passed since she had been wounded.

Something moved behind him, and he whirled around on his knees, pistol up and ready. It was Qrow.

"What happened?"

Jäger shook his head. "She tried to fight a Maiden. Did a damn good job of it too, before she got an arrow to the calf. Can't fight if you can't stand. I was doing what I could, but I could only go so hard, since my weapons and semblance are dangerous to everyone, doubly so because she didn't understand what staying out of my line of fire meant. Then your niece arrived and did something to Cinder and the Dragon. Cinder fled, and the fact that she was here, with full Maiden powers means that Ozpin is either dead or missing."

Qrow cursed. "What about the charges?"

"I'm mostly sure they detonated, at least partially." He looked down, making sure Pyrrha was still breathing. "I got my ass kicked Qrow. I was the first line between Ozpin and Amber. Somehow, she launched an arrow that went right through the pod to take Amber in the chest. Pyrrha busted out of the chamber and I ordered her and Jaune to flee."

–Line Break–

Flashback

"James. You need to go as well. This is an enemy beyond even you."

Jäger looked back at Ozpin. "I already gave my weapons to Jaune and Pyrrha." He unsheathed his axes and turned back to the new Maiden. "But I haven't had a chance to cut loose recently, and this bitch is asking for a beat down." His aura sprang to life around him as he activated his Semblance. "The charges are prepped Ozpin." He smiled. "If I fail, it's up to you," he said in an animalistic growl. Ozpin paled, recognizing what the voice meant. "It's time to show this upstart why my people were feared for centuries."

Holding his axes out to each side, Jäger stalked towards Cinder's hovering form. From the blades, crimson aura visibly flowed, dripping off like blood, while the deep blue ran from the handles like water.

Cinder cocked her head to the side as she hovered in the middle of the walkway. "Your aura… it's such an interesting color." She landed on the ground. "But I must ask. Why do you resist us so? I know you are the one who has given Roman so much trouble." Her smile turned especially dangerous. "And what's more, you didn't even try to hide that it was you who injured me at the ball."

Jäger visibly attempted to restrain himself, his aura slightly diminishing. "I have neither patience nor mercy for terrorists," he ground out. The muscles in his neck flared. "It was my job to kill them for most of my life." His body suddenly relaxed, causing his aura to burn even brighter. In the gloom of the vault his eyes took on a shining quality, reflecting the deep blue of his aura. "You're simply going to be next." Without another word, he charged, axes whirling. Cinder's response was simple but not nearly as effective as she expected. Raising one hand she lazily fired a blast of fire at the Marine. Her indifference nearly cost her. Under the influence of instincts honed on the battlefield that combined viciously with the ancestral memory of the thousands of berserkers before him, Jäger had dove to the ground and rolled. His blades sang through the air as moved in a two pronged attack; the left blade cutting up at her armpit, while the right tore sideways towards her neck. Had the blows landed, the Fall Maiden would have been reduced to a decapitated and dismembered corpse. However, the blades halted as she used her newfound powers to grab the axes, reaching across her body to grab each of the offending blades. Towering over her, with a look of utter madness and bloodlust in his eyes, Jäger roared, using more and more of his strength in an effort to kill this upstart who dared challenge his power.

Then one of the axe blades shattered. The loss of resistance sent Jäger off balance, leaving him open for Cinder's counterattack. Her off hand flashed beneath his arms and launched a fireball into his stomach. The flame sent Jäger tumbling back to land near where he had started. Growling with rage, he switched his remaining axe to his right hand and drew his KA-BAR with his left as he prepared to charge again.

Before him, Cinder again began floating above the walkway. "As amusing as this has been, I tire of your stubbornness." With that, she launched herself down the corridor, slamming into the enraged Marine. Spinning, she launched him down the corridor to slam into the elevator doors, which opened at the sheer force of his impact. Even as he lay there groaning, the Marine glared hatefully at Cinder as she sauntered up to his slumped form and knelt next to him.

"So much anger and hate," she murmured as her hand stroked his face. "We could use someone like you, if only you'd agree to serve." He responded by shoving his KA-BAR into her thigh to the hilt. Screaming in pain and rage, the new Fall Maiden launched Jäger up the elevator shaft. His last conscious thought was to push himself off the side wall to land in the atrium before his world faded to black.

–Line Break–

Qrow whistled lowly. "By Oum. How are you alive?"

Jäger shrugged as he checked Pyrrha's still form. "Near as I can tell, when I let the Berserkrgang take over my aura reserves shoot through the roof. That somehow gives me a level of rapid healing which means I can continue fighting." He stood. "Bullhead is almost here. Help me pick her up. We have to keep her chest perfectly level, otherwise the wound will get worse." The Bullhead pulled up over the destroyed tower. Two medics jumped out and helped the Reaper and the Marine load the wounded Spartan into the VTOL. With her secured, Qrow jumped out to grab Ruby before closing the doors. The craft headed towards the evac zone as fast as possible. Jäger moved forwards towards the cockpit. "Is this craft shielded against an EMP?"

The pilot looked at him before turning back. "What is an EMP?"

"A large pulse of electromagnetic energy. It has the capability to fry all electronics within a certain range if they are unshielded."

"Given that electric dust is rather common, I should think we would be fine."

"Good. Has Beacon been evacuated?"

Qrow answered from the rear compartment. "All of the teams have been evacuated to Vale."

"How long to Vale?"

"Half a minute."

Jäger nodded and pulled out his scroll. Pressing a button, he immediately began speaking. "Undid Iridium. Niner, one, five, seven, niner, six, four."

A whirring sound came over the speaker followed by a mechanical voice. "Identity confirmed. Ready for orders."

"Detonation order."

"Please specify location."

"Location, Bravo Tango."

The whirring sound was heard again. "Location confirmed. Please specify yield."

"Yield, 160 kilotons."

More whirring. "Please confirm yield. Reauthorization required for yield over 100 kilotons."

"Yield, 160 kilotons. Authorization as follows. The color of the day is scarlet. The city of the day is Charleston. The word of the day is anthrax."

"Authorization confirmed. Yield confirmed. Caution, yield will destroy majority of Beacon. Immediate evacuation recommended. Please specify timer."

"Ninety second timer to begin on my mark. Mark." He turned back to the pilot as he hung up. "Shut the bullhead down the second we land and brace for impact."

A scant few seconds later the craft came to a low hover over a cleared courtyard in Vale, with emergency personnel moving among the refugees and hunters. As soon as it touched down medics ran on board, grabbing Pyrrha and rushing her for surgery. Right as Jäger exited, the horizon in the direction of Beacon lit up as if the sun had risen from the North instead of the East. A wall of sound rushed over the city like a freight train, screaming with primal fury. On its heels came a massive shockwave that shattered windows and threw dust across the city. In the sky, a pillar of fire, ash and smoke roiled ever higher, swelling upwards until the top poured over into the shape of a mushroom, stretching its ominous shadow across the entire city. Everyone around Jäger went silent in horror, not fully comprehending the destruction that had just been leveled upon their school, but recognizing the enormity of it. In this silence, a quiet voice rang out across the courtyard. "Today I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds."

 **A/N: And that's the end of Volume 3 folks. Now, to clear up how I ended things. Jäger did NOT just detonate a nuclear weapon in Beacon. The full explanation for what he did will appear in the next chapter, which will cover the scenes in Volume 3 that take place on Patch as well as the beginning of Volume 4, which will start following Jäger about two weeks prior to the episode beginning of Volume 4. Feel free to PM me for more info, not guarantees on whether or not y'all will get a straight answer though.**

 **A/N2: For those of you who don't recognize it, Jäger's quote is taken from Dr. Oppenheimer, one of the men who spearheaded the development of the Atomic Bomb in the 1940's.**

 **A/N3: Y'all have heard it enough, but I will apologize for the amount of time between chapters. College is not all its cracked up to be, and junior year is not an easy one. Thanks for sticking with the story, and I will do my best to have the next chapter out before Thanksgiving.**


	26. Chapter 22

From the Halls of Beacon to the Shores of Atlas

Vale, Two Days after the Fall

Vale was devastated. There was no other way to describe it. Between the White Fang, the Grimm and the blast, much of the city was damaged in one way or another. Beacon had ceased to exist in the aftermath of the blast, with only the foundations remaining. It had taken two days to hunt down and eliminate the remaining Grimm prowling through the city, and now the remaining leadership was discussing what was to be done with the ruins of the academy.

"It will take time, but we need to begin rebuilding Beacon. If we…"

"Glynda, we don't even know what destroyed Beacon in the first place!" Ironwood slammed his hand onto the table. "Ozpin gave that Kristiansen far too much leeway." He looked at Qrow. "Where is he?"

Qrow shrugged. "Why should I know?" He took a swig from his flask. "That man is more than capable of taking care of himself. If you want my opinion, he will find us when he needs to."

Ironwood's scroll rang. "Go ahead specialist."

Winter Schnee's voice came from the device. "Sir, Mr. Kristiansen is requesting entry."

The three looked at each other before Qrow shrugged. "Speak of the devil."

"Let him in."

The doors opened and Jäger walked in, fully equipped. Ironwood started on him immediately.

"Where were you? And what have you been doing, you needed to be debriefed." He shook his head. "And more importantly what in the hell did you do to Beacon?"

"In order, I was in Beacon, trying to determine if it is safe for human presence. As for what I did, that is slightly more complicated." He looked around. "How secure is this room?"

"Very," was all Ironwood said.

"Then if this information gets out, it is on your head, for everything is exceptionally secured on my side." Ironwood nodded. "Tell me, what happens when you smash a fire dust crystal?"

Glynda spoke. "Depending on the size of the crystal, there will be an explosion. Also, the more force used in smashing the crystal, the larger the explosion."

Jäger nodded. "Then tell me, what would happen if two crystals of opposite dust types were slammed into each other in a confined space at speeds greater than 340 meters per second?"

Glynda shook her head. "Nothing. The two dusts would cancel each other if they were opposites."

Jäger smirked. "Unless of course there was a force threshold that, once passed, would cause opposite dust types to react with each other. Add in a confined space and the result is a self-sustaining chain reaction that will continue so long as there is fuel for the reaction." He shrugged. "The weapon I used slammed a five-kilogram fire crystal into a five-kilogram ice crystal at roughly 400 meters per second. The resultant explosion produced 670 trillion joules, or 160 kilotons of TNT."

Ironwood looked directly at him. "You will immediately surrender any and all plans of this weapon to me, as well as any more versions of it you may have. That is not a question."

Jäger's face hardened. "You have no authority over me General, and thus you can take that request and stuff it. Besides, if you seized them from me, I would be handing it over to Atlas, and the last thing Atlas needs is a larger military advantage." His eyes narrowed. "And if you think you can keep me here, you are very much mistaken."

"Enough." Everyone turned to look at Glynda. "We have enough problems without you two wanting to fight each other to the death." She looked at Jäger. "Why were you looking to see if Beacon is safe for human inhabitance?"

"Because this style of weapon, where I'm from, produces a large amount of energy in three forms; alpha, beta and gamma. Granted, since I don't have access to most of my equipment here, I have no way of determining if the atomic structure of things is the same here, but for now I am assuming it is. In essence, the detonation produces what we call radiation. Alpha and Beta radiation are not that big of a threat for human beings, as it gets absorbed rather easily. Gamma is the danger. It is literally pure energy that takes several feet of lead to be absorbed and poisons the surrounding area for years to come. Luckily, given the fact that the materials used were different, there doesn't seem to be any radiation, or at least none that my Geiger counter was reading. Now, that doesn't mean that there isn't any radiation there, just that it could be in a form that I can't detect." He shrugged. "The only way we'll find out is if people start experiencing radiation sickness. Nausea, vomiting, headache, diarrhea, fever, unexplained infections or red patches on the skin; those are signs of radiation sickness. If anyone starts showing signs of that, evacuate anyone who is present from Beacon."

"How dangerous is it?"

Jäger looked at Qrow. "Exceptionally. Mainly because it isn't something that you can see. And it can, at least on my world, affect people on levels so small they can barely be detected. Children born of parents with radiation exposure can develop illnesses that they had shouldn't have been able to contract, physical deformities, things like that. It's not something to fuck around with."

The three Guardians had identical looks of horror on their faces. He shrugged. "This is why, if you remember, I said that I would leave the genie in the bottle. Well, now everyone knows about the bottle, but it is still closed. I'm keeping it that way."

Glynda shook her head. "Moving forward, we have to decide what we are going to do. Beacon will have to be completely rebuilt, if it can be rebuilt at all."

"I've been recalled to Atlas, along with my fleet," Ironwood flatly stated. "Winter is currently making the arrangements."

Jäger reached into his pocket and pulled out a scroll. "I have a full design schematic here that I need produced. I will provide all the ammunition for the weapon systems, but I need the craft built. If you can produce it, I will make my way to Atlas as soon as it is ready."

Ironwood looked slightly skeptical, but nodded nonetheless.

"Tai is taking Ruby and Yang back to Patch to recover, and from what I've heard, Arc, Lie and Valkyrie will be going with him…" Qrow was interrupted by the doors slamming open. Jäger immediately drew his pistol and was aiming right at the head of a distinguished looking gentleman dressed impeccably in a white suit.

"James, I am taking my daughter home immediately, and that is final."

"I'm sorry sir, he wouldn't allow me to explain you were in a meeting," Winter apologized

"Jacques. You cannot just barge into a meeting."

"I'll do what is best for my family whenever I feel like it Ironwood. Now, my daughter is coming home with me and none of you will prevent it."

"If that is what you feel is best, then that is your right."

Jäger holstered his pistol. "And with your posturing done, if you would be so kind as to leave, sir." He gestured towards the door.

"Do you have any idea who I am? I'm Jacques Schnee, and…"

"Frankly, I don't give a damn. You interrupted a sensitive meeting simply to fulfill your own need for grandstanding, and are wasting our time." He turned to Ironwood. "Has Nikos been evacuated to Atlas yet?"

"Given the state of her injuries, she has remained aboard my remaining ship, in the medical bay. Once the fleet leaves tomorrow, she will be coming with us."

Before Jäger could continue, the doors burst open again, this time admitting Weiss.

"Professor Goodwitch, Blake has disappeared!"

Jacques turned. "Ahh. Daughter. Well, that saves me the trouble of having to find you. Gather your things, you will be returning to Atlas with me."

At the same time, Jäger held up his scroll. "Actually, she hasn't disappeared, she is currently aboard a transport bound for Menagerie. I managed to tag her with a tracker in the aftermath of the battle."

Jacques glared at his daughter. "You're worried about a faunus? Im certain you realize how badly that could damage the image of our company."

"She's my teammate," was Weiss' defiant reply.

"Oh even better. Leave aside the fact that you've decided to become a huntress, you are on a team with a faunus. And I thought you couldn't disappoint me further." He shook his head. "Get to the airship. That is final." Weiss hung her head but left silently.

"Now, where was I…" Jacques turned his head to the other four to find the barrel of Jäger's .45 an inch from his face.

"You know, I was willing to suspend judgement on you for the time being. I thought you were just an overworked executive which resulted in being a poor father. Instead, you're an asshole, with no understanding of how a father ought to act. Well, I for one have heard enough of you. Remove yourself from the building before I do it for you. Forcibly."

"How dare you…"

The hammer on Jäger's gun clicked back. Jacques Schnee closed his mouth and left without another word.

"Now that that unpleasantness has been dealt with, we need to come up with a plan. Do we have any intel on where Cinder was from?"

"No. They were part of the contingent from Mistral, so that's the extent of it. Which we already knew, as it was in your dossier."

"Well then, it looks like I am going hunting. Ironwood, let me know when the schematic is complete."

"Speaking of, would I be allowed to use it in the Atlesian military?"

"By Atlas standards, it is an obsolete, inferior design, so I see no reason why you would. I am using it because it is a design I am familiar with and have experience piloting. Saves me the trouble of having to learn a new airframe." He glanced down at his scroll. "In any case, I'm going to my warehouse before shipping out. Qrow, do you need a ride to Patch"

"That would be appreciated."

Jäger turned to leave, but stopped and turned back. "I just had a thought. And it will seem exceptionally callous to some of you, even for my standards."

Qrow, Goodwitch, and Ironwood all glanced at each other. "Go ahead James." Goodwitch looked between him and Ironwood. "That's going to be confusing. You're now Kristiansen so as to preserve my own sanity."

He smirked, but then sobered up. "Thanks to my emergency broadcast, everyone knows Nikos was severely injured. And that kind of injury is hard to recover from, even with aura. And because the transfer started but wasn't completed, she carries a portion, no matter how small, of the Fall Maiden's power within her. What if, in order to spread disinformation, we informed Teams JNPR and RWBY that she died during the surgery?"

Glynda exploded. "Are you mad? Ignoring the fact that we would be doing this without her permission, what of her team?"

Ironwood held up his hand. "No, he has a point. Because she carries a portion of the former Fall Maiden's aura within her, it means that this Cinder doesn't have her full powers. If we feed false information that Nikos died, Cinder will be operating on the assumption she has full control. At the same time, she will be operating at a lower level than if she was in full possession of the Fall Maiden's powers."

Jäger nodded appreciatively. "Look, I recognize that it is not the most moral of decisions. Welcome to wartime leadership, where every option is immoral, and you have to pick between bad and worse. I've made extremely immoral decisions in my time, and I have no doubt the General is the same. What matters here is that we have an advantage that we can use. And if we can, we should."

Glynda crossed her arms. "I will have no part in this. Do what you will, but I will not support it."

"But you won't undermine it?" Taking her silence as acceptance, Jäger turned to Ironwood. I'll take care of it. I'll inform RWBY and JNPR of the death in a week or so, once Ms. Rose has awoken."

"And when will Ms. Nikos rejoin her team? I cannot keep her in Atlas indefinitely, something will eventually leak."

"Put her through the Atlesian Specialist training, and treat her no different than any other recruit, regardless of her status as a champion or Maiden. Once that's complete we can go from there, but she will most likely be rejoining us in Mistral." Jäger looked a Qrow. "Anything to add?"

He took a swig from his flask. "Make sure that when they go to reunite she and her team are aware of the fact that she had no power in the matter. That it was a decision that was made for her, not by her. That ought to save them some problems." He let out a wry grin. "Might make more for us, but we can deal with it." He looked around the room. "If there's nothing else, I'd like to be on my way." Glynda, Ironwood, and Jäger all shook their heads.

 **A/N: Apologies for the lateness** **of this chapter folks, it appears my best was not enough due to multiple factors. So, I decided to publish a shorter chapter in an effort to get you all something. Unfortunately it is going to be a while before a _new_ chapter is published. Here's why. After rereading through all of the chapters, I found myself immensely dissatisfied with what I view as continuity errors, as well as the way I was presenting Jäger as a character. In essence, what I have in my head was not what was being published. So, in an effort to correct these errors, I will be systematically going through the story and rewriting it in its entirety. The general path of the story will remain the same, but particular interactions will be changing. I'm also going to be reevaluating the particular point of view of the story, particularly if it will focus on ****Jäger in particular or on teams RWBY and JNPR. More to that point, there are going to be more interactions between RWBY, JNPR, and** **Jäger. So, keep an eye out as I will hopefully be redoing chapter 1 and possibly 2 before the end of the week.  
**

 **Regards,**

 **Alpah**


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